Megan Everett, community director and live ops lead at Digital Extremes, has pushed back against any notion of celebration following Bungie's decision to end support for Destiny 2. In an interview, she described the shutdown as deeply painful, not just for fans but for the broader gaming community that has watched two sci-fi shooters define the live-service landscape for over a decade.
"Truthfully, it's heartbreaking. It's earth-shattering," Everett told Eurogamer. "I never thought I'd ever see the day where I'd read an article from Bungie about Destiny 2 essentially shutting down."
Bungie announced in May that all future development on Destiny 2 would cease. The final update, Monument of Triumph, launched on June 9. The decision blindsided much of Bungie's own workforce, with staff reportedly learning about the shutdown through the public announcement rather than internal communications, even as development continued under false pretenses.
Everett's comments signal a shift in how industry figures view competition. Rather than seizing an opportunity to poach Destiny's player base, she emphasized the value of having a strong rival in the same genre. "I'm speaking personally, but I know people would echo it as well. No one is celebrating the fact that this has happened to Destiny, and its players and that story," she said.
The two franchises have occupied adjacent territory in gaming culture since the 2010s, often mentioned in the same breath despite significant gameplay differences. Everett acknowledged that comparison happens constantly. "The community team has seen comparisons between Warframe and Destiny almost every single day," she noted, while adding that devoted players of each understand their distinct identities.
What struck Everett most was the timing of player support for Bungie. After the shutdown announcement, Destiny fans mounted petitions and flooded social media and livestreams in a bid to reverse the decision. The effort ultimately failed, but Everett found the belated outpouring bittersweet.
"I think what's unfortunate and sad is they announced this was happening, and suddenly people are showing all this support for them," she said. "They've been getting a lot of negativity for all this time, and it's like, where was all this love? People need to put the hate away and show the love, because they could have really used that. I know it was there, but it wasn't as vocal as maybe some of the negativity."
Rebecca Ford, Warframe's creative director and the voice of the Lotus, also weighed in. She called Destiny a "force of nature" and acknowledged Bungie's foundational role in the genre, stating plainly that "there is no Warframe without the legacy of Bungie games."
For Digital Extremes, Destiny's absence from the market presents obvious business advantages, yet Everett rejected the premise that this constitutes good news. Instead, she argued that healthy genres thrive on genuine competition, not the absence of it.
"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 explained. "I've said for forever, I never expect anyone to only play Warframe. You would burn out so fast if you did. So having other games that scratch a similar itch is healthy for our genre. Having Destiny was healthy for us."
The candor of her response reflects a mature understanding of live-service dynamics. Developers at competing studios have historically maintained professional distance, but Everett's willingness to openly mourn the loss suggests something deeper: recognition that the entire ecosystem benefits when multiple quality titles compete for attention.
Author Emily Chen: "Everett's refusal to gloat over a competitor's collapse feels almost quaint in an industry obsessed with market share, but she's right that watching Destiny fall hits differently when you've spent years racing alongside it."
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