Destiny 2 Steam player count drops over 80% after Edge of Fate as bugs, system changes, and blocked access in major regions push players away.
Destiny 2 has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years, but things have taken a serious turn since the launch of its latest expansion, Edge of Fate. On paper, it brought sweeping changes to how players interact with the game: a new Portal system aimed to ease entry for new players, an overhaul to armor stats, and an entirely new gear tiering system.
Bungie said these changes would simplify the experience and give players more flexibility. What ended up happening instead was a perfect storm of bugs, confusion, and frustration. Almost every major feature that launched with Edge of Fate has suffered from issues.
The Portal has been the center of so many bugs that some players now say it should’ve been delayed entirely. Things like armor stats have also been caught in major bugs spotted by the community that Bungie later acknowledged.
On the population side, things look worse. Since Edge of Fate, Destiny 2’s Steam player count has trended down, and now, the game is reaching its all-time low player numbers since launch on Steam.
Destiny 2 Steam Player Count Hitting Record Lows
According to the data from SteamDB, Destiny 2 has seen an alarming drop in player engagement since Edge of Fate released. On its launch day, the expansion pulled in a respectable 98,211 concurrent players. But things quickly fell off.
For comparison, in the last 24 hours, Destiny 2 peaked at only 17,964 concurrent players, a staggering drop of more than 80% from Edge of Fate’s launch numbers. Here’s how the day-one peak player counts on Steam compare across recent expansions:
- Shadowkeep: 214,100
- Beyond Light: 242,284
- The Witch Queen: 290,112
- Lightfall: 316,750
- The Final Shape: 314,634
- Edge of Fate: 98,211
- Desert Perpetual raid launch: 108,535
- Last 24-hour peak: 17,964
The average player counts haven’t held up either. In June 2025, Destiny 2 was sitting at around 21,000 average players. The release of Edge of Fate in July gave things a temporary boost, pushing the average to 41,497. But that momentum didn’t last. By August, the average dropped to 34,738, and over the last 30 days, it’s fallen even further to just 20,437. That’s nearly half the active player base gone in under two months.
On Reddit, players aren’t sugarcoating how they feel. One post titled “I think this game is finally dying” racked up over 1,500 replies. The original poster pointed out that concurrent player counts had dropped to under 10,000 earlier in the day, with almost no one around in activities like the seasonal playlist or raids.
“Destiny 2 reached 9k players active on Steam 5 hours ago, now it’s 11k,” the post reads. “Epic raid is coming in 2 days, but it seems people are not interested anymore in this game. This season is literally empty of content.”
One user replied, “The game is dying because there’s nothing to do! Recycled content, same strikes, and this is like the seventh time we’ve seen Hung Jury.” For those unaware, Hung Jury is a scout rifle in the game that’s been reissued several times over the last few years.
Others talked about just how punishing the game feels right now. One reply reads: “I want to love and play the game, but nothing in the portal interests me if I have to put on a gazillion modifiers and fight combatants at -40 Power just to get some decent loot. It’s a horrendous experience.”
Another long-time fan said, “I was a day one player. Never went a day without playing Destiny. Now, I haven’t turned the game on since downloading the new season and content. First time I’ve never bought the expansions, and I don’t think I will. I currently don’t miss playing, and I don’t have any desire to play. I’ve given this game my time and money faithfully for 10 years. I think I’ve had enough.”
Another player talked about how the game is just punishing to play right now. “The game is ridiculously hard and punishing, and the grind is so off-putting that even veterans can’t be asked anymore,” they said. “I’m at like 340, I’ve given up. I don’t have time for this.”
Things got even messier this week when players in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and other nearby countries suddenly couldn’t log in to Destiny 2 at all. The game would throw TAPIR errors on all platforms: PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
Bungie finally responded after days of silence, saying only that: “Destiny services are not available where access is restricted by law.”
In response, Steam began issuing full refunds for Edge of Fate and the pricey Year of Prophecy Ultimate Edition, even for players well past Steam’s usual two-hour refund window. And all of this is happening just one day before the launch of Destiny 2’s next major event: the Desert Perpetual Epic Raid, with the World First race going live tomorrow.
So what do you think? Is Destiny 2 in real trouble here, or is this just another rough period before things improve again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
