Destiny 2 director Joe Blackburn shares a new video explaining and apologizing for the latest State of the Game update, while also promising better communication as we head towards the Destiny 2 The Final Shape release date. The FPS game and Bungie have been criticized for failing to suitably address PvP issues in Destiny 2, following a State of the Game update that was issued on Thursday, August 3. Now, Blackburn says that communications will be improved, but outlines that Bungie’s “number one priority [is to] keep our community members and our community leaders safe.”
Destiny 2 regularly shares State of the Game updates to offer information on coming changes, tweaks, modes, and other new material. The latest post faced criticism as players did not feel it sufficiently addressed concerns about PvP and Bungie’s plans for new Destiny 2 maps.
With The Final Shape – billed as the concluding DLC for the Destiny 2 Light and Darkness saga – now imminently due to arrive, game director Joe Blackburn posts a 16-minute video outlining new methods of communication and changes to both PvP and how maps are released.
“A couple of weeks ago, we put out a State of the Game communication that wasn’t up to your standards,” Blackburn says. “It didn’t provide the vision that we normally provide, and really and truly a lot of us were heads down in The Final Shape, and weren’t able to give it the care and love that we normally put into these kinds of communications, and that’s nobody’s fault but mine.
“When Season 22 rolls around, I’m going to be in the game a lot; I’m going to be playing a lot. So, what we want to do is commit to a few times next season and the season after, and I’m just going to stream me playing the game, and you’ll be able to come and talk to me. And it’s not going to be reveal packed, but it is a great time to just check in with Joe. I want to commit, get out there, play some PvP, learn from some experts, and play alongside all of you next season.”
Blackburn also says that Bungie will continue to use its branded social media channels to communicate with its community, promising that the developer will be “talking to you all more.” However, the Destiny 2 director also says that the “number one priority” is protecting both community members and leaders.
“We’ve talked a lot about how the development team is very busy,” Blackburn says. “Although we really want to be focused on delivering great content to you all and making sure that’s our top priority, that doesn’t mean our communications have to suffer. And so, the first thing, we’re going to be talking to you all more.
“But talking to you all, our number one priority, we have to keep our community members and our community leaders safe. I don’t want anyone that signs up to come work at Bungie and to talk to you about the game to have to worry about their personal safety.”
Ahead of Destiny 2 Season 22, Blackburn says that Bungie is re-evaluating how it releases new maps. Rather than a “trickle” of maps, the director explains that Bungie will release an entire map pack that will be free to download.
“It’s clear the sort of slow trickle of PvP maps isn’t having the effect we want,” Blackburn says. “And this one new map a year, it’s kind of forcing us to build a map that does everything, which means it can’t be good at anything. So next year, we’re going to change our philosophy. Instead of a slow trickle of maps throughout the year, we’re going to focus our effort on a single map pack that’s free for everyone.”
Destiny 2 recently announced a new voice actor for Commander Zavala, following the death of Lance Reddick. Released in September 2017, the shooter will soon reach its sixth anniversary. You can see the full video from Joe Blackburn, which was originally posted to Twitter, and uploaded to YouTube by ‘c0nflicx’, below:
With Season 22 shortly to arrive, check the best Destiny 2 builds to make sure you’re still topping the tier. Alternatively, grab all the Destiny 2 emblem codes for August.