Bungie was making a completely different game instead of Destiny 3. The project was quietly canceled - journalist

Without pressure from Sony and PlayStation, Bungie was developing Project Payback, an unusual game in the Destiny universe with an open world, puzzles, and a set of specific heroes instead of creating your own Guardian.

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

The creators were inspired by the character structure of Genshin Impact, but without similar aggressive monetization. The main goal of Payback was to attract young and new players to Destiny. Over the years of Destiny 2's existence, the average age of the audience grew, and the removal of content into the 'vault' made the game difficult for newcomers.

Project Payback was quietly canceled in the summer of 2024 after the release of The Final Shape. Amid Bungie's restructuring, costs had to be cut, and a traditional Destiny 3 was considered too expensive – its development was estimated at approximately $500 million. Despite Payback's cancellation, Bungie is not going to say goodbye to Destiny.