• Following two opportunities to confirm or refute reports of a delayed release of Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Bungie has yet to seize the opportunity to do so.
• This week the firm once again reiterated its confidence in the expansion despite having reportedly laid off eight percent of its staff.
• The expansion currently has a 27th February 2024 release date according to the product page.

Last week was probably one of the worst weeks for Bungie after it was revealed that the developer of Destiny, Destiny 2, and Marathon was laying off workers suddenly and without warning.

As much as eight percent of staffers from a number of departments were laid off last week and amid that news were reports that the next mainline expansion for Destiny 2, The Final Shape would be delayed.

On the back of that news, Destiny 2 players have been waiting for Bungie to either confirm or deny these reports. While the developer has published two blog posts since these reports, there is still no official word from Bungie about this alleged delay.

The expansion currently has a 27th February 2024 release date emblazoned on its official product page so the expansion could still be on track. However, the blog post issued last week leans heavily on the concept of ensuring that The Final Shape lives up to expectations.

“We want to build something that will be regarded alongside the best games we’ve ever made – a fitting culmination that honors the journey we’ve been on together for the past ten years. Forsaken, The Witch Queen, and The Taken King – these are the standard bearers we aim to live up to. We are intensely focused on exceeding your expectations for The Final Shape. Destiny 2 has more than 650 dedicated teammates pouring all their energy and expertise into delivering this epic moment and its subsequent Episodes,” the developer said.

With Bungie having previously detailed how its launch cadence and development cycle plays out with its community, the statement above implies that there is still work to be done on The Final Shape. Factoring in the layoffs and the fact that the festive season is approaching, that gives Bungie roughly three and a half months to complete the expansion for release. Reading between the lines of the statement from last week, it appears as if Bungie needs to add more to the release to make it on par with the likes of Forsaken, The Witch Queen and The Taken King.

This week the developer mentioned the expansion but didn’t address the reports of a delay.

“We will continue to give it our all, and we have confidence that The Final Shape will be an expansion everyone will want to experience. There will be Episodes to follow with more adventures to be had. As tough as these past few weeks have been, we’re as determined as ever to make Destiny 2 the best game it can be for our players,” the developer said.

To our mind, there isn’t enough time between now and the end of February to “build something that will be regarded alongside the best games we’ve ever made” unless the groundwork on that was already done and all that’s needed now is some window dressing. Still, with a smaller team that could take longer or even lead to a crunch where developers working on the title spend more time working than they ought to.

It’s all just very confusing and leaving players in the dark will only serve to hurt Bungie’s reputation further.

Following the news of the layoffs many Destiny 2 players took to social media to showcase their cancellation of The Final Shape pre-orders. It’s not clear how many of the millions of players took this stance but vocal disdain for the company and its practices can’t be doing it any favours.

Those hoping to play The Final Shape in February next year will have to continue waiting for official word from Bungie.