Forsaken breathed new life into Destiny 2, which until then was struggling. Much like The Taken King did for the original Destiny, Forsaken revitalized and re-energized Destiny 2 and its community. But unlike The Taken King, which propelled Destiny’s growth on a long term basis, it seems like Forsaken is already sputtering out.
According to analysis firm SuperData, Destiny 2’s monetization and engagement levels—ergo, how many players are playing the game, and how many are spending money on it—are already back to the levels they were at before the launch of Forsaken. Making matters worse is the fact that revenue from additional content is also apparently down by 63 percent year-on-year. Activision themselves have noted that they have found Forsaken’s performance disappointing in the past—so this checks out.
It’s unclear what Bungie and Activision can do to make Destiny 2 into a sustainable long term success. Competition in the market is now fiercer than it was when the first Destiny came out, and Destiny persistently disappointing players may have led to many to swearing off of it for good.