With Destiny 2: Beyond Light's Season of the Chosen officially kicked off, Guardians are taking to the Battlegrounds and completing Exotic quests as if the alliance with the Cabal depends on it (it does). That being said, some players noticed a reference set within the in-game challenges that harkened back to a slogan used by Nazi Germany. The likeness sparked a larger conversation on social media, and Bungie immediately apologized for the unintentional similarity regarding the Cabal and real-world history. 

It began with a new set of weekly challenges for Season of the Chosen. One of the challenges was called "Blood and Honor." Given the aesthetic nature of the Cabal, a name like Blood and Honor seems pretty standard for more fantasy-driven fictional stories. It didn't take long, however, before some players noticed that the this phrase in German is "Blut and Ehre," which was a slogan infamously worn by the Hitler Youth. 

Just to be sure I didn't imagine it last week, I took a screen grab of the bounty challenge completion banner that says 'Blood and Honor'. Once again, I call on @Bungie to recognize and replace this N*zi slogan. @A_dmg04 @Cozmo23 https://t.co/tNIvO283G7 pic.twitter.com/TuIKUbwnEO

— Mardin of Chatzuk (@MardinofChatzuk) February 16, 2021

The name association was pointed out on Twitter, asking for Bungie to "recognize and replace this N*zi slogan." The same player raised concerns (which quickly went viral) over an in-game challenge in relation to the event it slots with – Battlegrounds: Cleansing. This event is a PvE endgame exercise that has players fight through hordes of Cabal enemies only to down a boss and loot chests with Cabal Gold. That association was also a cause for concern, and Bungie quickly addressed it. 

In a statement made to Kotaku, the site that initially reported on the controversial war table find, a Bungie spokesperson offered up the below statement regarding the unintentional inclusion with a promise of termination: 

"Any connection to anti-Semitism in Destiny is completely unintentional. Bungie is emphatically committed to inclusion and human rights, and will never stand for anti-Semitism. We are already preparing fixes in an upcoming patch. We apologize to all of our players that were hurt by the references, and we are grateful to our community for bringing their concerns to our attention."

[Source: Kotaku]

Bungie, the legendary studio behind the classic Halo trilogy and the popular live-service Destiny franchise, is taking measures to “prepare for the company’s expected and rapid future growth.” In an emailed press release, Bungie has affirmed plans to expand the studio, add key personnel to help create more nuanced IPs, and build upon the already extensive universe of Destiny.

Last month, Bungie made definitive moves to secure a detailed expansion and redesign for its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. The large-scale operation is slated to be finished in Fall 2022 and will increase the HQ’s 84,000 sq. ft. space to more than 208, 000 sq. ft. To put that into perspective, that’s just below the size of four American football fields combined. This new, enlarged space will house multiple development teams in addition to the experts tasked with working on the Destiny games. Additionally, Bungie will be opening its first international studio in Amsterdam at some point next year. 

The Bungie Leadership Team is also facing positive changes. Mark Noseworthy (Vice President, Destiny Universe) and Luke Smith (Executive Creative Director, Destiny Universe) are set to oversee the brand’s foray into other forms of media (yes, this is vague but very exciting at the same time for any Destiny diehards out there!). Justin Truman (General Manager, Destiny 2) will step into the central role of leading the future development plans of Destiny 2. 

“In addition to building state-of-the-art facilities to support the growth and development of their talented employees, “ the press release reads, “One of the primary drivers of Bungie’s expansion is to increase the commitment to the long-term development of Destiny 2, tell new stories in the Destiny Universe, and create entirely new worlds in to-be-announced IPs.”

What do you think this means for Destiny moving forward? Will the franchise live on in potential movies or spin-off television shows? Or will we be seeing new Destiny games in the near future? Share your thoughts below! Be sure to check out some of our previous impressions of Destiny 2's content here and here.