Destiny 2's Steam player count average is now the lowest in the franchise's history
The pick of Destiny.
Destiny 2's average 30-day player count on Steam has dropped to its lowest level in the series' history.
Whilst participation in live-service games inevitably waxes and wanes - and these figures do not account for players on console - it's nonetheless an unwelcomed milestone for Bungie's beleaguered sci-fi shooter.
Despite launching Episodes, the three-part, self-contained seasons that kicked off in The Final Shape's shadow back in June, Steam Charts suggests the game is averaging just 31,300 players over the last 30 days – the lowest number ever recorded since Destiny launched on Steam back in 2019.
That's down 75 percent since June, when Destiny 2's final expansion, The Final Shape, launched.
According to TheGamePost, that's less than half the number of players Destiny 2 boasted three months after The Witch Queen and Lightfall released in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Bungie recently issued a statement acknowledging concern over the future of its decade-old sci-fi franchise following "recent changes" at the studio.
Sweeping layoffs saw 220 Bungie staff out of a job, less than a year after a further 100 employees were let go last October. A further 155 Bungie staff are also departing the studio for roles within parent company PlayStation.
In response, Bungie has now said it remains "committed" to Destiny, though details of what's next remain thin on the ground. There's also no mention of the departures of key Destiny creatives Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy, who were reportedly developing a now-cancelled Destiny spin-off named Payback.