Destiny 2 Steam Player Count Drops To Lowest In The Game’s History

Things continue to get sour for Bungie as Destiny 2 has experienced an astronomical decline in players. Taking a look at the Steam Charts shows that players there has been a huge swathe of players who have left the game in the last two months. With a peak of 145,390 players on September, Destiny 2 has averaged a total of 34,367 players over the last 30 days which is the lowest the player count has ever been. 

While Destiny 2 has suffered declines numerous times throughout its lifetime, this has to be the steepest decline of players in the game’s history ever since it launched on Steam. The game hit its all-time peak on Steam earlier this year with the release of its latest expansion “Lightfall”. With the lukewarm reception of Lightfall from both fans and critics, as well as rising frustrations within the player base, the decline makes sense. 

It also has to be mentioned that drop in players can be attributed to the end of the in-game season, however, this appears to be the sharpest decline in the game’s history. It won’t be far-fetched to imagine that part of it can be associated to the negativity surrounding Bungie thanks to the recent mass layoffs which included key figures in team including composers Michael Salvatori and Michael Sechrist, and art director Lorraine McLees. 

Compounding on that would be rumors that imply a possible delay of Destiny 2’s upcoming expansion “The Final Shape” is also being planned. Bungie themselves have not commented on these rumors implying that The Final Shape is still set to launch on February 27, next year. 

It has to be said that a concurrent peak of over 30k players is still very good of a game that has been around for so long. As someone who enjoys fighting games, let’s just say I would do some truly unholy acts to see those same numbers on my favorite fighting game franchise. 

If you’re one of those who are adamantly sticking through it amidst this sharp drop, then consider checking out our guide on the best pulse rifles in Destiny 2. In case you’re feeling particularly spicy this week and want to do some Gambit matches, then check out our guide on the best Gambit weapons in Destiny 2.