Future followers are lamenting the way forward for Bungie’s sci-fi shooter franchise, following a threadbare replace this week, launched whereas the developer focuses on supporting Marathon.
Future 2 Replace 9.5.5.5 arrived on Wednesday, and its full patch notes learn as follows:
And that is it. Now, to be truthful, there was no expectation that this week would deliver an enormous nicely of recent Future 2 content material to maintain gamers occupied. Future gamers are additionally nicely conscious of the actual fact Bungie is presently busy attempting to make Marathon successful. However, as one fan put it in response: “I anticipated nothing and nonetheless obtained dissatisfied.”
Final month, Bungie introduced through social media that it was delaying its subsequent main Future 2 recreation replace, Shadow and Order, by a full three months — from March till June — one thing it blamed on the necessity to make “giant revisions” to its content material.
On the time it introduced that delay, Bungie averted mentioning its simultaneous launch of Marathon, which might have arrived inside the similar launch window — presumably to keep away from the suggestion that one mission was sapping assets from the opposite. However Future followers have discovered it laborious to think about a world the place, had Bungie not been additionally centered on transport Marathon, its revisions to Shadow and Order wouldn’t have to take as lengthy.
Certainly, in its assertion on the delay, Bungie appeared to go so far as it might to sign that issues could be quieter for Future over the approaching months, with fundamental upkeep and steadiness updates doubtless the one modifications that gamers would see. The studio then thanked followers for his or her “continued endurance and assist,” earlier than affirming that it will launch extra info on the replace “nearer to launch.”
For a lot of gamers, the information felt like Bungie successfully shifting its public deal with Future to the again burner till the summer time months — one thing this week’s newest replace has solely cemented in followers’ minds, leading to a mixture of frustration and darkish humor.
“Virtually 3 hours of downtime for… this,” famous one fan, in a prolonged thread of complaints on reddit. “A single repair.”
“I am curious – what number of patches have solely ever been one patch be aware?” questioned one fan. “Even courting again to Future 1, I really feel like that must be a uncommon sight. Not even dogging on the sport/studio – real curiosity.”
“There’s actually nobody engaged on this recreation anymore,” wrote one other fan. “Dev workforce is genuinely one half timer huh,” added a second. “So successfully they’ve dropped Future completely to work on Marathon? Sigh, might of at the least launched the DLC you introduced first,” stated a 3rd.
“Subsequent [blog] will actually simply say ‘please play Marathon’,” reads one other remark. “You may solely snicker about it after which cry about what has turn into of the perfect dwell service recreation ever,” reads yet one more.
IGN has contacted Bungie proprietor Sony for extra element on its content material plans and assets obtainable to work on Future, however didn’t obtain a response. Within the meantime, it stays a troublesome time for the developer and the nine-year-old Future 2, whereas there have additionally been blended reviews on Marathon’s preliminary launch efficiency to date.
Final 12 months, Sony stated Bungie had failed to satisfy its gross sales and person engagement expectations, following a notable drop in Future 2 participant numbers. The injury was dangerous sufficient that Sony stated it had been compelled to file a 31.5 billion yen (round $204.2 million) impairment cost on account of Future 2’s underperformance. That was vital sufficient to tug down income at Sony’s Sport & Community Providers Phase, which incorporates Sony Interactive Leisure.
“For years now, Future has been on this regular hardening of the core [audience],” Future 2 recreation director Tyson Inexperienced instructed IGN again in November. “Increasingly core gamers are staying and enjoying the sport, however comparatively few [new] individuals come into the sport. There is a tightening and contraction, and this presents issues for a recreation that you just’re attempting to take care of as a dwell service, particularly once you need to hold serving these core gamers with nice, compelling expansions.” Precisely when these may arrive, nevertheless, stays to be seen.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You may attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
