Destiny 2is the culmination of 30 years of Bungie game design, with near endless content, an expansive world, and of course, a ton of references. In celebration of the company’s 30th anniversary, Bungie has recreated the box arts of some its most iconic games usingDestiny 2models and assets.
Bungie started its 30th anniversary celebrations with a specialDestiny 2pack that brought tons of new and referential content to the game. From the return of classic weapons like fan-favorite Gjallarhorn Rocket Launcher, to new ones inspired by Bungie’s previous games, like theBattle Rifle and Energy Sword fromHalo, the new set of arms covers both Bungie’s past and present. The references extend pastHalothough, with a full set of unlockableMarathon-inspired ornaments, and a new activity known as Dares of Eternity, featuring the shady Xur and a powerful celestial horse.
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Bungie’s recreations of former box arts inDestiny 2access both the easily recognizable and more obscure parts of the company’s history. The images come fromDestiny 2’s official Twitter account in a post where Bungie simply states, “Iconic covers inspired by our past.” Up first is none other than a recreation ofHalo: Combat Evolved’s legendary box art, with a Guardian donning some of the30th Anniversary armor—including a particular green helmet—and wielding the BxR-55 Battler Legendary Pulse Rifle in the same pose as Master Chief. Next is a bit more recent, a recreation of the originalDestiny’s box art, three guardians standing back to back, with the Traveler looming in the distance.
The final two images contain nods togames that predate Bungie’sHaloandDestinydays, and may be unfamiliar to many.Marathon, another science-fiction FPS franchise, is referenced in the third image, the simple two-tone box art being recreated, withDestiny 2written in theMarathonfont on the left, and the Tricorn symbol replacing the circularMarathonlogo. In the final image Bungie referencesPathways into Darkness, a Mac OS FPS released in 1993, the image retaining the same strong black boxing of the original, with the title being replaced withDestiny: Vault of Glass, referencing the first Raid available in the original game.
In a year that has had many anniversaries, Bungie may have one of the finest celebrations of them all. While all of thenods and references in the 30th Anniversary Packare incredible, it is the effort exuded into these images that is the icing on the cake. More times than not, when people think of Bungie, they think ofHaloorDestiny, so it’s nice to see the company’s older franchises inMarathonandPathways into Darknessreceive a bit of attention.
Destiny 2is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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