Warframe
The closest match for a long-running loot chase
Warframe might be the closest thing here to Destiny 2's own shape: a free-to-play, co-op looter-shooter that's been running and expanding for well over a decade, with its own deep well of lore and gear to chase that mirrors Destiny 2's own slow evolution.
We'd call this our first recommendation specifically because the commitment feels similar — both games reward players who stick around for years, through reworks and new systems, rather than a single finite campaign.
Combat leans more acrobatic and melee-forward around your Warframe's unique abilities, and progression is built around grinding resources to craft gear rather than Destiny 2's drop-based loot. Expect a different rhythm to earning your next piece of power, even if the long-term pull feels familiar.
Halo Infinite
For Destiny 2's own shooter roots
Halo Infinite is the closest thing here to Destiny 2's actual lineage, built by a studio with deep ties to the shooter Bungie helped define, and it shows in gunplay that still feels satisfying grenade by grenade, melee by melee.
We like it as a pick for players who miss that specific feel of a Bungie-adjacent arsenal more than the raids and seasonal grind — Spartan combat carries a lot of that same weight, even without Destiny 2's loot chase behind it.
Its campaign is a single open-world romp rather than Destiny 2's ongoing live service, and multiplayer runs free-to-play competitive and co-op modes rather than endgame raids. Choose this for the gunplay itself, not for anything resembling Destiny 2's seasonal structure.
Borderlands 3
For loot-chasing with a sense of humor
Borderlands 3 channels the same compulsion to see what the next gun roll looks like into a four-player co-op shooter that's willing to be as absurd as Destiny 2 stays serious, with weapons that spit, bounce and explode in ways Destiny 2 rarely attempts.
We'd point a Destiny 2 player here when the loot chase itself is the draw, but the tone of space-opera seriousness has started to wear thin — Borderlands 3 offers the same core loop with its tongue firmly in its cheek.
It's a complete, self-contained campaign rather than a live, evolving game, so there's no seasonal content to keep returning to once you've finished it. Pick this for a finite, funnier loot binge, not for Destiny 2's ongoing structure.
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
For a grounded take on the same loop
The Division 2 pairs the same loot-chasing, build-tinkering loop as Destiny 2 with a grounded, post-collapse Washington D.C., where cover-based third-person shooting replaces Destiny 2's more acrobatic, vertical gunplay.
We think it's a strong choice for players who want the gearing systems and endgame activities Destiny 2 offers, but in a realistic military setting rather than space fantasy — the itch to chase a better roll feels the same, even if the aesthetics are a world apart.
Its open world is a single persistent city rather than Destiny 2's patrol zones spread across planets and moons, and the tone throughout is far more grounded. Choose it for that change of setting, not for a space-faring equivalent.
Star Trek Online
For a persistent career instead of a Guardian
Star Trek Online gives you a persistent space-faring career the way Destiny 2 gives you a Guardian's, with ship-to-ship combat, away missions and a free-to-play structure that's been expanding since 2010.
We'd recommend it to a Destiny 2 player drawn more to the idea of a long-running character in a sprawling universe than to Destiny 2's specific gunplay — commanding your own ship offers a different kind of power fantasy entirely.
Its RPG systems lean on Star Trek's own lore and a slower, more tactical combat rhythm than Destiny 2's twitch-shooter action, and third-person ship combat makes up a large part of the experience. Pick this for the persistent-universe feeling, not for anything resembling Destiny 2's shooting.
