Destiny 2’s Steam player count nearly doubled with Guardian Games, but it’s still depressingly low

Any developer would be happy to see the player count for one of its games double, and with Guardian Games, Bungie stumbled upon that scenario. This would have been amazing news for Destiny 2—if it weren’t so sad.

The release of Guardian Games 2026 pushed Destiny 2‘s Steam player count to the peak of 14,030 players when it launched on Tuesday. It’s a vast improvement over the 7,933 guardians Steamcharts recorded the day before. Popularity.report points out it had 205,177 unique players yesterday, up from 161,129 on Monday.

Yet, it’s a grim display of how drastic the game’s situation really is. This time last year, Destiny 2 averaged 30,967 daily Steam users, going strong off its third episode, Heresy. In March 2024, going off the disastrous year of Lightfall and before Into the Light, that monthly average on Steam was almost 40,000 players, and popularity.report lists the biggest single-day peak at 633,306 guardians.

If we go back further to 2022, even Season of Plunder—almost unanimously one of its worst-ever seasons, where we woke up Osiris by making tea out of the spare parts of a dead god—averaged 40,000 monthly on Steam and had, at its worst, just under 600,000 daily unique players.

At the time, it was basically sounding the seven trumpets of the Apocalypse. Nowadays, Bungie would have to tithe to a Hive god or two to get these numbers.

Destiny 2 has been on a steep downward slope, particularly after the release of The Edge of Fate last July. The highly controversial Portal was one of its many, many, many shortcomings, in addition to an ill-received campaign.

The damage seems to be done: even the Star Wars-themed Renegades couldn’t hold players for long. The delay of its next “major update” to June was another nail in the coffin of a game drawing in too much water.

Parts of the community hold the perception (misguided or not) that Bungie has been neglecting Destiny 2 to focus on Marathon, its newly released sweetheart. To some, it’s either helpless to stop the game’s decline or happy to watch it fail. Talk about alienating a player base.

Bungie has pulled miracles out of thin air before, of course. Into the Light was the latest of them, and potentially the last. The studio has changed since—in leadership, in vision for Destiny 2, and in sheer manpower. Stopping Destiny 2‘s hemorrhage would require more than just one fluke, more than “we’re listenings” and promised roadmaps; catch lightning in a bottle two or three times and then maybe the situation can turn around. Until then, the player count may continue to “double” into the low five figures or less.

The post Destiny 2’s Steam player count nearly doubled with Guardian Games, but it’s still depressingly low appeared first on Destructoid.

The Fated Shadow sword is one of those rare weapons in Crimson Desert that you can miss quite easily. However, its Greysoul Howling ability is one, if not the best, weapon skill that you can utilize. Sadly, the weapon isn’t part of a quest, so you’ll need to put in some extra effort to find it.

Fated Shadow sword location in Crimson Desert

To find the Fated Shadow sword, you’ll need to head to the Abyss region at Nest of Valor. The region is near the Dry Valley. This area might remain hidden for you. If you have reached the endgame content, you’ll reach the Abyss area after defeating the Goyen boss in Chapter 9.

Once the Abyss map is available, use the nexus on the small island next to the Dry Valley. This is the easiest way to travel to the spot where you can find the Fated Shadow sword.

How to reach the Fated Shadow sword in Crimson Desert

Once you arrive at the spot, the main path will be split into two directions. Take the path going right, and you’ll arrive at a small cave. Take the staircase next to the cave, and head upstairs. Inside, you’ll get a Fishball Soup recipe if you haven’t visited the location previously.

Keep traveling to the back of the cave, and a small icon will appear near a bucket and a few other objects kept on the floor. You’ll really need to be close to the spot for the marker to appear. This is the same spot from where you’ll manage to interact and add the Fated Shadow sword to your arsenal.

How does Greysoul Howling work in Crimson Desert

The Fated Shadows sword comes pre-built with the Greysoul Howling ability. You can activate it by pressing the R1/RB and R2/RT buttons, and it requires Spirit to work. It will call the ghost of Goyen, which releases a sweeping strike of shadow energy across the target area.

This ability is one of the best attacks, in my opinion, and you can target individual/multiple enemies with it. You can always choose to sell the ability and the sword, but I have kept both in my arsenal.

The post How to get Fated Shadow sword and Greysoul Howling in Crimson Desert appeared first on Destructoid.