Although Bungie is still heralded as the king of PvP over a decade on from Halo, Destiny 2’s PvP scene has been slowly dwindling over the years on PS5 and Xbox. With the recent formation of a PvP Strike Team, things are quickly turning around, however. Answering years of community outcry, Bungie has revealed that it’s actively investigating returning to its roots by adding a Halo-inspired Big Team Battle mode to Destiny 2 at long last.
When asked about whether there are plans to bring a Halo Big Team Battle mode to Destiny 2 in the most recent Firing Range podcast, associate weapons designer Mercules reveals that “it is an ongoing investigation at Bungie”. Given Destiny 2’s new game director has worked on every Bungie Halo game, looking back on the studio’s PvP pedigree was no doubt inevitable.
Mercules goes on to explain that “there [is] some really weird tech stuff that happens when a bunch of players load into an activity in Destiny”, explicitly referring to the 12-player raid bug that broke end-game activities in one of the best FPS games for a short time in 2021.
“We want to make sure that we can make it happen in a way that ends up being fun and stable”, suggesting that these technical roadblocks need to be ironed out before such a promising mode could materialize. It’s also possible that Destiny 2’s continued support of last-generation consoles is also a limiting factor, with some fans calling for Bungie to focus exclusively on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S going forward. “We think it would be something really, really fun if we can do it in Destiny but we have to make sure we can do it first.”
Although Mercules expresses his excitement over the possibility of this iconic Halo mode returning, there are few details on what it could look like. Halo’s Big Team Battle pits two teams of eight against each other in larger areas and throws the full sandbox into the mix – including vehicles. However, vehicles aren’t available in Destiny 2 PvP. In fact, vehicles did feature in several of Destiny 1’s larger arenas but this was walked back with the sequel. As such, it’s unclear whether this Destiny 2 Big Team Battle mode would finally see vehicular mayhem return – or whether its focus is simply on larger teams and arenas.
Nevertheless, Mercules rightly points out that, as team sizes get bigger, “the game feels a lot more like a playground or a sandbox, which is why “Halo’s Big-Team Battle was so successful”. Evidently, striking the balance between chaos and competition is at the top of the developer’s minds.
This is part of Bungie’s wider efforts to revitalize the PvP experience across the board. While great strides have been made already, there is plenty more to come. “The goal is to continue to experiment with things that are interesting – different takes on the Destiny sandbox,” Mercules explains. “We’re going to continue to experiment on both sides of this coin… we’re going to try to make cool new party modes… and continue to make really good, core game modes for people who want something more serious.” In other words, PvP players have a lot to look forward to.
If Bungie does indeed return to its roots and add the iconic Halo mode to Destiny 2, then one of the best multiplayer games will surely see many hopping back into its PvP war zone. Before then though, we’ve got to take down the Witness when the Destiny 2 The Final Shape release date finally arrives. So, there’s no better time to put together the best Destiny 2 Titan build, Hunter build, or Warlock build so you’re ready for anything.