Future 2 followers have been ready with bated breath to study extra about the way forward for the sport. The Ultimate Form enlargement was the conclusion of the long-running Mild and Darkness saga, and it was well-received by veterans who had faithfully adopted all the franchise’s lore. This was adopted by a large-scale reorganization of Bungie, with 225 staff being laid off, and over 200 staff being reassigned to totally different studios inside Sony.
Monday, for the 10-year anniversary of the Future franchise, Bungie has launched a roadmap titled Codename: Frontiers that showcases the way forward for Future 2. There will probably be two medium-sized expansions yearly. In 2025, Bungie will launch the Codename: Apollo enlargement throughout Summer time 2025, after which the Codename: Behemoth enlargement in Winter. There will probably be an extra 4 main updates of free content material every year, working alongside the expansions.
Expansions will supply new tales, places, missions, and raids and dungeons for gamers. Seasonal updates will probably be extra centered on gameplay, providing new occasions and placing contemporary twists on in-game actions. “Expansions have began to really feel too formulaic and are over too rapidly with little replay worth,” writes Tyson Inexperienced, sport director for Future 2. Inexperienced is a long-time developer on Future who assumed the position after Joe Blackburn left the studio previous to The Ultimate Form’s launch.
“Seasons and Episodes preserve getting larger however can nonetheless really feel like you might be simply going via the motions. […] We’re actively prototyping non-linear campaigns, exploration experiences just like the Dreaming Metropolis or Metroidvanias, and much more uncommon codecs like roguelikes or survival shooters. Every enlargement will current a brand new alternative to strive one thing totally different.”
Bungie additionally intends to make adjustments to the core sport because it presently is, in try to forestall providing far an excessive amount of to do with little steerage. Bungie will probably be overhauling the sport’s exercise UI, the Director, to assist gamers discover the actions that they take pleasure in or supply the rewards they’re looking for. There can even be adjustments to the Problem Customization system, with rewards that rank up together with the problem.
The tip of the Mild and Darkness Saga doesn’t imply an finish to multi-year campaigns. Alison Lührs, narrative director on Future 2, shares a few of the upcoming story content material. “We’re pleased with The Ultimate Form and the ending we created for the Mild and Darkness Saga. And we knew that the episodes that comply with would act as an epilogue, tying up Mild and Darkish’s hanging threads… but in addition setting us up for what’s subsequent,” she writes.
Codename: Apollo will kick off the subsequent main saga on the coronary heart of Future 2; whereas Lührs is deliberately gentle on particulars to keep away from spoilers, she writes that Codename: Apollo is “a nonlinear character-driven journey” that “will introduce loads of new characters, factions, twists, and extra.” The identify Frontiers suggests new territories, and followers have been speculating that within the conclusion to The Ultimate Form, Guardians could lastly be leaving the Sol System for brand new galaxies.
A lot of the upcoming content material for Future 2 will probably be experimental. As Lührs writes, “Future is at its greatest when it’s mysterious, bizarre, and never afraid to strive new issues.” It appears like Bungie is shedding a few of the parts of its on-line shooter that have been tedious for followers, and experimenting with new codecs and types. It stays to be seen how these trials end up, however a dedication to extra narrative content material is a reduction in gentle of the conclusion of The Ultimate Form and the successive layoffs.
