Destiny 2’s The Witcher Crossover is a Missed Opportunity in Its Current State

Highlights

• Destiny 2’s recent crossovers with popular IPs like The Witcher were limited to cosmetic items, missing an opportunity for a more immersive in-game event.
• The addition of a crossover event tied to The Witcher’s popular card game, Gwent, could have added depth to Season of the Witch and motivated players to purchase exclusive cosmetics.
• Holding crossover events that are free for all players would not only benefit Destiny 2’s longevity but also potentially increase revenue for Bungie by keeping players engaged and willing to spend money on the game.

Destiny 2 has been in a delicate position since the launch of Lightfall, which many believe failed to deliver the premise of the penultimate expansion in the Light and Darkness saga. The recent Bungie layoffs and the rumors of The Final Shape being delayed to June 2024 further put a dent into the community’s trust and engagement with the game itself, which right now is boasting the lowest player count on Steam ever recorded, making fans question what this could mean for the franchise. With the reported loss of 45% revenue from Destiny 2‘s sales projections, Bungie is smart to use popular IPs for its crossovers, but The Witcher collab wasted a big opportunity to be something more.

As it stands, Destiny 2‘s seasonal events are four, and they take place once in each of their respective real-life seasons, with Guardian Games happening in Spring, Solstice in Summer, Festival of the Lost in Fall, and The Dawning in Winter. These are the only full-fledged events the game features, and while on the one hand, it makes sense given the current scope of the game, on the other hand, crossovers easily lend themselves to be something more than just cosmetic item bundles.

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Destiny 2’s Crossovers Could be Something More

A History of Destiny 2 Crossovers

Bungie has held several crossovers for Destiny 2 so far. These include the following IPs, alongside the newest one for Season of the Wish:

• Fortnite
• Assassin’s Creed
• God of War
• Horizon
• Ghost of Tsushima
• The Last of Us
• The Witcher

There were also crossovers with Fall Guys and Arknights where Destiny 2 characters would appear in those games in some shape or form, but they didn’t cross over into Destiny 2 itself. In every instance, these crossovers were limited to cosmetic items featured in the Eververse store for players to purchase, and they were always only available for Silver – the real-money in-game currency.

Why Destiny 2’s The Witcher Crossover Missed a Big Opportunity

The Witcher crossover for Destiny 2 would have been a perfect addition to Season of the Witch if it came with its own in-game event associated with it, so that not only all players would be able to enjoy crossover content for free, but it could also motivate some fans to purchase the exclusive cosmetics. Season of the Witch added a deckbuilding mechanic in Destiny 2, and a crossover event with The Witcher could have added a temporary game mode or even just in-game effects tied to the IP’s own popular card game: Gwent.

Gwent was not only a popular mini-game for The Witcher 3, but it became its own standalone game that gained a lot of traction over the years. With a deckbuilding mechanic added with Season of the Witch, albeit basic, having some sort of Gwent-themed elements would have made for a great way to present a crossover that’s more than just a few skins only available for those who spend money on the game. Destiny 2‘s “microtransaction hell” is not something new, and adding more microtransactions without some form of content for free-to-play gamers doesn’t help the looter-shooter’s current reputation.

As such, The Witcher crossover feels a bit late and a bit wasted, and while it remains a good way to offer interesting armor sets and other cosmetic items to fans of other franchises, Destiny 2‘s future crossovers can and should aim to achieve something else. One of the premises of live-service titles is to keep players engaged enough that they’ll spend money on the game at some point, and holding crossover events that are free for all would not only be better for Destiny 2‘s longevity, but would also help Bungie possibly make more revenue.