Sony Paid $3.6 Billion For Bungie In 2022 Specifically To Lead Its Live-Service Push. Destiny 2 Goes Into Maintenance Mode June 9, 2026. No Destiny 3 Is In Active Development. The Strategy Is Officially In Shambles.
Bungie announced on May 21, 2026 that active development of Destiny 2 is ending. The final live-service content update, titled Monument of Triumph, will be released on June 9, 2026, after which the game enters maintenance mode; servers stay online, but no new content is coming. Ever.
Forbes writer Paul Tassi, who has covered the franchise throughout its existence, reported that “almost all” of Bungie’s employees did not know about the decision until it was announced publicly. Many Bungie staff reportedly discovered the end of Destiny 2’s active development at the same time as players. Two planned expansions, Shattered Cycle and The Alchemist, have been cancelled. No Destiny 3 is in active development.
Sony’s plan to launch ten live-service games by 2026 fell dramatically short. It’s 2026, and Sony has released only a handful; one of which, Concord, became synonymous with total failure, spending two weeks on live servers before being pulled down. Concord reportedly cost between $250 million and $300 million to develop. Firewalk Studios was subsequently shut down.
The collapse of the live-service pipeline is extensive. Sony has cancelled multiple live-service games including The Last of Us Online, which was said to be mostly complete before it was scrapped by management. Dark Outlaw Games was shut down. Bluepoint’s live-service God of War project was cancelled.
Bend Studio’s live-service game was cancelled. Haven Studio founder Jade Raymond departed after an external test of Fairgame$ reportedly left much to be desired, with analyst Michael Pachter claiming the game has been cancelled entirely, though Sony has not officially confirmed this.
The one genuine success in the entire strategy was Helldivers 2, which sold over 12 million copies and ranked as one of the best-selling games of 2024; a single-developer success that arrived almost despite the strategy, not because of it.
Sony built its entire $3.6 billion Bungie acquisition around the promise that Destiny’s model was the future of PlayStation. That future ends June 9.
To check out our previous coverage on gaming, tech and business, read our articles here.
