Killer Queen

Bungie’s Blake Battle talks The Witch Queen, refreshing Destiny 2, and the future of the series

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The Witch Queen is Destiny 2’s latest and greatest expansion, and just may be the series’ best DLC yet (turn to p80 for our verdict). Despite dropping during one of the most crowded release schedules we’ve ever seen – Elden Ring, anyone? – it’s been both a critical and commercial success, ending on a jaw-dropping cinematic that leaves even the most battle-hardened Guardians desperate to know more.

You may have tried Destiny and bounced off it – it boasts a rich backstory that confuses even seasoned players – but The Witch Queen pulls together several of the loose ends in a glorious climax that both satisfies and stuns in equal measure. For new players, it’s probably Destiny’s most accessible expansion; for veterans, it’s damn-near unmissable. But now that it’s all-change with Bungie officially joining the PlayStation family (Sony dropped $3.6 billion on the studio), what’s next for its tentpole title? Project lead Blake Battle spills the beans to PLAY.

PLAY: Let’s start at the beginning. Where did the idea for The Witch Queen come from?

Blake Battle: ‘Definitively Destiny’ has been one of our core pillars, and throughout the year we’ve had a renewed focus on narrative and story and taking the universe somewhere. Foundationally, from Destiny 1 – the story of The Taken King and Oryx and the Darkness, and The Witch Queen being on our way out of the Light and Darkness saga – telling the story of Savathûn and the Light and what it means to be a Guardian felt like the best jumping stone to close out that saga in Destiny.