Journalist Reports Bungie Quietly Canceled Unannounced Game Instead of Destiny 3

Bungie developed Project Payback without pressure from Sony and PlayStation, creating an unusual game in the Destiny universe featuring an open world, puzzles, and a roster of specific heroes instead of custom Guardians.

According to journalist Jason Schreier, the project was overseen by Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy, and its concept differed sharply from classic Destiny. It was designed as an open-world action sandbox with puzzles where players controlled specific characters.

The creators drew inspiration from the character structure of Genshin Impact while avoiding its aggressive monetization. The main goal of Payback was to attract young and new players to Destiny. Over the years of Destiny 2, the average age of the audience had grown, and content removal via the Content Vault had made the game difficult for newcomers.

Project Payback was quietly canceled in the summer of 2024 following the release of The Final Shape. Amid restructuring, Bungie had to cut costs, and a traditional Destiny 3 was considered too expensive, with its development estimated at roughly $500 million. Despite the cancellation of Payback, Bungie does not intend to say goodbye to Destiny.