The science fiction shooter genre has lost a major player with the cessation of updates for Bungie's Destiny 2. While this marks the end of an era for the popular title and its dedicated player base, developers at Digital Extremes, the studio behind the rival game Warframe, have expressed genuine sadness rather than competitive schadenfreude.
Warframe's community director and live ops lead, Megan Everett, described the news as "heartbreaking" and "earth-shattering." She stated that no one within the Warframe team is celebrating Destiny 2's conclusion. "I never thought I'd ever see the day where I'd read an article from Bungie about Destiny 2 essentially shutting down," Everett told Eurogamer. She emphasized that a healthy genre benefits from strong competitors, and credited Bungie for their efforts in developing the Destiny 2 narrative.
This sentiment was echoed by Warframe's creative director, Rebecca Ford, who noted on social media that Warframe owes a debt to the legacy of Bungie's games, citing her own history with titles like Halo and Destiny. In a gesture of respect, Warframe introduced an in-game cosmetic title for players as an homage to Destiny.
Everett also commented on the surge of player support for Destiny 2 following the announcement of its end-of-service, observing that such appreciation often arrives late. "People need to put the hate away and show the love, because they could have really used that," she remarked. She lamented that the game's conclusion is devastating to the industry, regardless of its individual ups and downs, which she likened to Warframe's own challenges such as content droughts.
While some might see Destiny 2's conclusion as an opportunity for competitors like Warframe, especially with the latter building excitement towards its annual TennoCon event, Digital Extremes developers reject this perspective. Ford's social media post concluded with the plea, "do not offer succor with comparison!" Everett reiterated this stance, explaining that while comparisons between Warframe and Destiny 2 are common, the games cater to different player desires. Warframe, for instance, does not focus on the player-versus-player combat that Destiny 2 offers.
"I think I would never say what has happened to Destiny is a good thing, even though it 'eliminates a competitor'," Everett stated. "That is not our mindset at all. I think competition is healthy. I think having games that are similar enough that the communities can come together and talk about both games, and maybe educate people on those games so people go to both, that's not a bad thing." She concluded that having Destiny as a peer was ultimately beneficial for Warframe and the genre as a whole, preventing players from potentially burning out by offering alternative experiences within the shared sci-fi space.