Over nearly a decade of Destiny, the series has seen many experienced developers taking the reins, though Destiny 2’s Joe Blackburn might be the most important. Serving as game director since 2020 throughout a defining era for the game, Blackburn has now revealed he’s moving on from Bungie – and studio veteran Tyson Green is taking over to lead the PS5 and Xbox FPS.
In a series of posts on Twitter on January 30, 2024, Blackburn announced that he will “head on a new adventure outside the walls of Bungie” before the Destiny 2 The Final Shape release date. “Tyson Green will take the reins as [Destiny 2] game director, ” he explains.
With The Final Shape now entering its final stages of development, the focus is shifting to polishing the experience before its addition to one of the best FPS games. “This ritual will be especially meaningful”, Blackburn expresses, noting that it serves as “a moment to pass the torch” to a new director. As a longtime Bungie and Destiny fan before joining the team, “Getting to be part of the Destiny 2 team has been the privilege of a lifetime” for Blackburn. He closes by stating that “it is going to be great to play Destiny alongside [the community]” going forward.
As for the new game director, Tyson Green is one of the longest-serving developers at Bungie. Having worked on every Bungie Halo game, Destiny 1 and 2, as well as its many expansions, Destiny is in good hands.
“If you’ve followed Bungie for any length of time, you’ve heard his name”, Blackburn says. “From Halo PvP to the creation of Exotic weapons in D1, Tyson has been a critical part of Bungie’s legacy since Myth II”.
Bungie recently noted that the Destiny 2 team want to get experimental with genres after The Final Shape launches on PS5 and Xbox. With the change in leadership in February 2024, this push will be overseen by Green going forward. While The Final Shape is receiving the final touches, we’re likely to feel more of Green’s influence in the new Destiny 2 Episodes format that follows.
Given Green’s pedigree for delivering excellent PvP experiences in Halo multiplayer, it’s possible that the Crucible will be seeing more love going forward, especially after Blackburn established the internal PvP Strike Team last year.
Blackburn’s departure undoubtedly comes at a problematic time for Bungie, with a wave of layoffs at the studio and missed revenue targets, though his work as game director has been praised by current and former developers. Former community manager Liana Ruppert expressed, “When we talk about the good folks in leadership, we are talking about folks like Joe and many others”. Likewise, Destiny 2 expansions project lead Catarina Macedo notes that “Joe has been a champion for this game and its community”.
Though the Destiny 2 content vault has put a damper on things, D2 is still one of the best games out there. While the sudden change in leadership will no doubt cause some alarm among the community, Tyson Green is evidently an FPS expert. Destiny 2 will face increased competition though, with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League boasting impressive long-term ambitions, starting with Suicide Squad Season 1, giving Destiny a run for its money.