Destiny 2’s End of an Era Sparks a Viral “Easter Egg” Alternative Hunt
Destiny 2’s support is winding down, and the majority of the team behind the game has reportedly been let go—leaving a lot of players feeling like the end of an era has arrived all at once. For many, there’s no obvious replacement for what Destiny brought to their routines: its worldbuilding, art direction, gameplay feel, characters, and the long-running community rhythm that made it feel like more than just a game. With Destiny 3 seemingly not in development, it’s hard not to wonder if the franchise is nearing its final chapter, which makes finding something else to step into that role feel less optional and more necessary. If you’re looking for alternatives, Bungie’s extraction shooter Marathon is one possibility, and Warframe is another longtime option—but Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 may be the closest match for what Destiny fans tend to miss most.
Key takeaways
- Destiny 2’s ongoing support is ending, and most of the game’s staff has reportedly been laid off.
- With Destiny 3 allegedly not being worked on, players are searching for a new long-term home for raid-like experiences.
- Black Ops 7’s Zombies main quest hunt created a community “race” moment that echoes the raid-day energy Destiny players know.
- The article argues Zombies boss fights in Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 are designed with distinct mechanics, similar to how Destiny raids differentiate encounters.
- Black Ops 7 Zombies is described as having deep lore, optional challenge modes, and map-specific special enemies and mini-bosses.
Why Black Ops 7 Zombies could scratch the Destiny itch
On the surface, a military shooter doesn’t immediately look like a natural substitute for Destiny. The tone and setting aren’t the same, the weapons don’t function like Destiny’s loadout ecosystem, and even the multiplayer structure—Black Ops 7’s 6v6—is fundamentally different from the ability-driven flow of Crucible. The co-op campaign also didn’t land as strongly as players hoped, with criticism tied to weaker sales compared to earlier entries. Even with Endgame showing big improvements, extraction gameplay still doesn’t sound like what many Destiny 2 fans are craving.
Zombies, however, tells a different story—especially when you look at what the latest main quest hunt did for the community. The write-up points to a chaotic start: bad actors leaking the main quest steps for Kowakujo turned a lengthy 60-hour push into a messy ending, and the backlash reportedly became a nightmare. Still, it insists that the 60 hours leading up to that conclusion were genuinely special. Retired Zombies creators returned to try the new map, players crowded chats and forums with ideas for what came next, and the overall tone shifted toward genuine camaraderie—something the community hasn’t felt in years of recent releases. For Destiny 2 players watching from the sidelines, the situation likely felt uncomfortably familiar.
Saying goodbye to Destiny 2, a one-of-a-kind gaming experience that delivered huge highs and also some crushing lows.
Black Ops 7 Zombies basically turned into a Destiny-style raid race
The piece argues that this kind of community-driven scramble is exactly what Destiny raids used to deliver. When raids were arriving on a roughly twice-yearly cadence, each new release became a major event. Players across the world coordinated through shared learning: watching streamers, decoding clues, and trying to be first to clear the toughest challenges. That “raid race” culture was a highlight for a lot of the community. Now that Destiny is effectively paused, comparable content is harder to find—many raid-like modes are more guided, with fewer moments where players truly have to figure everything out together.
Fortunately, the article claims Black Ops Zombies keeps those special, player-led races alive.
Loadout logic and the “raid” structure of Zombies main quests
Tap on a weapon to rotate it or press R while dragging.
It also draws a line between what made Destiny 2 raids satisfying and what Zombies main quests aim to deliver. One of Destiny’s strengths was the way bosses at the end of the path offered mechanics that felt meaningfully different from everything else you fought along the way. The article notes that since Black Ops 3 Zombies, proper boss encounters inside main quests have become standard. It then argues Treyarch has refined that approach: every boss is complex and distinct from the one before it.
Examples are used to emphasize how varied those encounters can be. The vehicle-focused fight in Ashes of the Damned is said to differ from Astra Malorum’s endurance-heavy, four-phase battle. Meanwhile, Totenreich’s ice giant is portrayed as very unlike Kowakujo’s dragon. The article acknowledges a structural difference—Zombies teams are four players rather than Destiny’s typical six—but insists the core expectation is similar: everyone has to be sharp, understand the mechanics, and play with awareness to win.
Overall, it frames Zombies main quests as some of the closest available content to Destiny 2 raids—not in theme, but in how the experience is paced and how encounters are built around learning and execution.
If Destiny 2 players end up enjoying Black Ops 7 Zombies and its main quests, the piece suggests they’ll find more strong boss-fight content in Black Ops 6. Going further back, it claims earlier entries offer even more complex puzzles and tougher underlying mechanics, keeping players busy for a long time.
Black Ops 7 Zombies similarities go beyond raid races
The article also argues that people who haven’t followed Call of Duty Zombies since the World at War era may be surprised by how much the mode has grown. It’s no longer framed as a simple round-based survival loop. Instead, it’s described as layered with extensive lore and theorycrafting—something the piece compares to the appeal of Destiny for players who enjoy digging into story and community speculation.
For players who prefer mastery through puzzle-solving, it claims there are plenty of secrets on each map tied to that style of play. It highlights alternate approaches like Cursed mode, which supposedly provides relics that add both boons and added challenges, including skull-style effects similar in spirit to Halo’s skulls. And for players who loved Destiny’s variety in enemies, it says Zombies delivers map-specific special adversaries and mini-bosses rather than one-size-fits-all threats.
The write-up also positions Black Ops 7 as a standout Zombies entry—describing it as arguably the second best in the entire series. It claims that surpassing Black Ops 3 may be impossible, but still argues BO7 gives co-op gameplay at its best. With another map reportedly on the way, the suggestion is that Destiny fans who haven’t jumped into Zombies yet should catch up now, because doing so would let them experience another “raid race” energy even as they move on from the game they love.
Black Ops 7 Zombies’ Destiny Similarities Go Much Further Than Raid Races
Those who haven’t kept up with CoD Zombies since the World at War days may be surprised by just how much the mode has evolved. It hasn’t been a simple round-based survival experience for a very long time now; there are mountains upon mountains of lore and theories to dive into for those who see that as the best part of Destiny, whereas those who loved solving puzzles for triumph score will have plenty of secrets to uncover on each map. There are alternate methods of play like Cursed mode, which offers relics that provide extra challenges and boons like Halo’s skulls, and those who appreciate Destiny’s enemy variety will surely be happy to encounter the map-specific special enemies and mini-bosses. As arguably the second best CoD Zombies entry of all time — outdoing Black Ops 3 may forever be an impossible task — BO7 offers co-op gameplay at its best. And with one more map around the corner, Destiny fans may want to consider catching up now, as if they do, they’ll essentially be able to join in on another raid race despite already saying goodbye to their favorite game.
