Destiny 2’s average Steam player count is now the lowest in franchise history

The average number of players playing Destiny 2 on Steam has dropped to the lowest level in series history after 30 days.

While participation in live-service games inevitably fluctuates (and these numbers don’t account for console players), it’s still an unpleasant milestone for Bungie’s troubled sci-fi shooter.

Despite the launch of Episodes, the three-part, standalone seasons that debuted in June in the shadow of The Final Shape, Steam Charts shows the game has averaged just 31,300 players over the past 30 days, the lowest number ever since Destiny launched on Steam in 2019.

That’s a 75 percent drop since June, when Destiny 2’s last expansion, The Final Shape, launched.

According to TheGamePost, that’s less than half the number of players Destiny 2 had three months after The Witch Queen and Lightfall released in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Bungie recently said in a statement that there are concerns about the future of its decade-old sci-fi franchise due to “recent changes” at the studio.

Massive layoffs have left 220 Bungie employees out of work, less than a year after another 100 employees were laid off in October of last year. Another 155 Bungie employees are leaving the studio for roles within parent company PlayStation.

In response, Bungie has now said that it is still “committed” to Destiny, though details about what happens next are still scarce. There is also no mention of the departure of lead Destiny creators Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy, who were reportedly developing a now-cancelled Destiny spinoff called Payback.