Destiny 2 for PC likely as Bungie plans ambitious sequel

Destiny 2 will be coming to the PC, at least if the gaming grapevine is to be believed.

As you're doubtless aware, the original Destiny skipped a Windows version much to the chagrin of PC gamers, only emerging on consoles back in 2014.

However, the sequel to Bungie's online shooter (which is still unannounced) will apparently target three platforms: PS4, Xbox One and the PC.

The speculation regarding a PC version began on NeoGAF, when a forum member ('Benny A') posted that an inside source he knew at Activision had seen a presentation for the game – and that both Vicarious Visions (Guitar Hero) and High Moon Studios (Transformers, Call of Duty – the PS3/X360 versions of Advanced Warfare) would be helping out with the project.

Of course that seemed pretty thin on its own, but Kotaku then added substantially more weight to the rumor, with a report that cited several sources claiming that the sequel would be coming to the PC, the most recent of which also said that Vicarious Visions would be involved.

Kotaku's Jason Schreier heard this a few weeks back, and furthermore earlier this year, he was told that Destiny 2 would be out on the PC with a planned late 2017 launch. Of course, this is all still speculation.

Starting from scratch

Kotaku provided some further details on how the sequel is shaping up, too. Destiny 2 will allegedly be an entirely new game with a fresh world to explore – and this might mean you can't carry your character over from the first outing. Predictably, that last nugget of info has caused considerable outbursts from some players, although equally others are excited at the potential of starting over from scratch.

Whether or not existing characters will be ditched hasn't been determined for sure yet, but apparently the thinking at Bungie is that if they take this route, players will get some sort of compensation for what they achieved in the original game.

To get an idea of what sort of changes are in the works, Bungie staff are comparing the scale of the shift to that seen moving from Diablo to Diablo 2.

Effectively, the devs will be working on a clean sheet, and of course dropping support for the older consoles will mean freeing Bungie from the shackles of lesser-spec hardware.

In terms of content, the broad plan for Destiny 2 is to have planet environments that feel more open and also busier, populated with a greater number of towns and outposts, and furthermore to have quests that are more exciting beyond basic patrol missions.

Kotaku's Schreier further pointed to a post by another NeoGAF forum denizen, Shinobi602, which he said matches up with everything he's heard about the game thus far.

This includes speculation that there are big changes in the works when it comes to plot direction and pacing, with the major focus apparently on Cabal and Saturn. The poster noted: "Saturn is a playspace set to be bigger than all of the playspaces currently implemented in the game combined", and it won't just be larger but denser with activities to get stuck into.

There's also the suggestion that if all content from the original game is scrapped initially, some areas might eventually return to Destiny 2 once they've been revamped and fleshed out for the sequel.

• Experiencing issues with Destiny: Rise of Iron? Then check out our troubleshooting guide

September 28, 2016 at 05:37PM
Darren Allan