Over three years ago, cryptic job listings at Destiny 2 and now Marathon developer Bungie pointed toward a small-scale incubation project with a comedic tone. It looks like that mystery game has finally been unveiled, and we've got more than job listings to go on this time.
In a post to its main Twitter, Bungie confirmed that it's "hiring for something new." What is this new thing, exactly? Well, it's "a team-based action game inspired by several genres in a brand-new, science-fantasy universe." More specifically, "it draws inspiration from fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and frog-type games, wrapped up in a lighthearted, comedic world."
I'm gonna stop you right there, Bungie. What is a "frog-type" game? I've searched all the Bungie job listings tied to incubation projects and come up with nothing. Is it a game about frogs? A game about jumping? A game about frogs typing? It doesn't seem like a typo. Is it Frog Factions 3, dare we dream? Wouldn't that be a pivot for an FPS powerhouse.
Given the range of genres apparently serving as inspiration here, there's no telling what elements, frog-type or otherwise, have been folded in or how. The fact that it's a team-based action game and seemingly not a shooter is interesting enough. Bungie also says "the team's designing for depth, mastery, and Bungie's signature action feel, as well as a friendly, inclusive community."
The latest incubation job listings at Bungie can tell us a little more about the studio's plans, but it's important to remember that this team-based sci-fi game is only one of the smaller projects in the works, so we can't necessarily tie all these listings to the same project. That being said, recurring use of the phrase "lighthearted and whimsical" in these job listings lines up with Bungie's verbiage on Twitter, so it's possible these are all related to the same game.
A post for an incubation art director, for instance, describes "a new Bungie IP" and calls for designers who "think a lot about how art impacts gameplay, how character design can enable fan cosplays, or how character poses and environments speak to different cultures." It also mentions knowledge of Unreal Engine as a "nice-to-have" skill, which indicates the technical foundation for the project.
An engineering listing mentions "joyful PvP combat and action gameplay" and doubles down on Unreal Engine 5. There have long been rumors of Bungie getting into mobile gaming, and while Bungie's yet to confirm its target platforms here, this engineering listing does mention experience with platforms including mobile.
An animation post says "you will help players express their personal style through their in-game avatars" and also specifies "experience with mobile." Mobile comes up again in a graphics engineer listing, so while we don't know if it's this exact game, it's pretty clear Bungie has something mobile coming.
In 2019, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons declared that the studio will establish "other franchises" and totally transform Destiny by 2025. That was notably before the coronavirus pandemic, uh, altered some production calendars, but the studio is certainly trucking along with new games.
Meanwhile, Bungie's main game has had a bit of a wobble: Destiny 2's game director has come out and apologized for the state of the game after a disastrous blog post about the State of the Game.
