Was Destiny 3 actually ever in development?

Following the latest round of job cuts at Bungie, it has been disclosed that an early stage project for Destiny 3, provisionally titled “Payback,” had been underway but ultimately scrapped due to financial constraints within the company. At this point, it appears that Destiny 3 is no longer in production.

However, was Destiny 3 truly under development? Or is the talk about it simply online conjecture?

Was Destiny 3 canceled? Or was the game never in development?

Recent reports stated that Destiny 3, under the codename Payback, was canceled early on in development. Reports also said that Destiny 2 will no longer be putting out expansions, but instead release “lighter and smaller” content packs.

Despite ongoing updates for Destiny 2, many players find themselves dissatisfied with the quantity of content they’re receiving. On the other hand, the speculation surrounding a potential Destiny 3 has left numerous fans feeling incredibly disappointed, given the rumors suggesting its cancellation.

Well, one insider claims that the game was never even in development.

Destiny 3 may have never been in development

Earlier today (August 1, 2024), Jason Schreier, a journalist from Bloomberg, shared that Destiny 3 was not being developed, according to confidential information he obtained.

To set the record straight, there’s been no cancellation of Destiny 3 as it wasn’t even in production to begin with, according to Schreier on Twitter. Previously, Bungie had started some preliminary work on a side project titled Payback, but they ended that project long ago.

It appears that this information might be the plausible solution to the online speculations, though it hasn’t been completely verified yet.

Will there ever be another Destiny?

Currently, there appears to be little chance that we will see a Destiny 3 game, given Bungie’s uncertain future. This has left many fans of the franchise pessimistic about the prospect of another Destiny release.

It appears, given the scarcity of new content for Destiny 2, that the game’s franchise might not have a bright future ahead.