14 DAY TRIAL // Christopher Schlerf, the leading writer who worked on the creation of Halo 4, is announcing that he is now joining Bungie, the team that's currently working on Destiny, although he has not made it clear whether he is working on the current version of the game or the much-rumored sequel.
The announcement comes from the official Twitter account of the developer and says that he has been happy to work with BioWare on Mass Effect: Andromeda for a while and that he believes the title will surprise and impress gamers when it is finally launched.
The new title in the long-running series will take gamers to a whole new galaxy and will introduce a range of new races and characters, severing any link with the Commander Shepard saga that was told in the first three installments.
Schlerf has not offered any details about the story that Mass Effect: Andromeda is planning to tell, but he says he is interested in playing it when it is launched, as a fan.
The title is expected to arrive before the end of the fiscal year according to Electronic Arts, but so far no information exists about the core gameplay mechanics or the progress of the narrative.
Christopher Schlerf worked on Halo 4 at 343 Industries, the company that took over the Master Chief-powered franchise from Bungie, which makes his switch to the studio an interesting move.
Destiny has some problems with narrative
The lead writer has a lot of experience with narrative, and that will be needed as Bungie tries to make sure that it injects more narrative into its universe and gives gamers more story to explore, both in coming content packs and in the sequel that's supposed to be introduced in 2017.
According to a new roadmap revealed by the studio, there are plans to launch a bigger content update for Destiny, which is as big as The Taken King, before the end of spring, which will feature new challenges and missions.
It's unclear whether they will be centered around an entirely new narrative but Bungie has planned to deliver more information about the way it will expand the shooter in the coming weeks.
A bigger and more classic expansion, which might come with an attached price, is also set to be launched in 2016 as the development team seeks to keep gamers engaged with Destiny in the long-term.
There are also plans to deliver more patches that can improve the core mechanics of the game while eliminating bugs and the Eververse Trading Company, which offers emotes for real world money, will also receive new content in the coming months.
The full sequel, which at one point was rumored to be planned for September of this year on the PC, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, has been pushed back to next year and might represent the focus for Schlerf.
Bungie has promised to more carefully listen to fan feedback and to the community to make sure that the future of Destiny aligns with the desires of those who continue to play it.
All that said, very happy to be back in Seattle, working with this scrappy little company called Bungie that some of you may have heard of. — schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016