Seven Years Together, Beginning with Season of Opulence
As Destiny 2 enters its 30th season in 2026, Winking Studios looks back on the journey of growing alongside the game since 2019.
Video source: Bungie / Official Destiny 2 YouTube Channel
Since joining the development collaboration for Destiny 2’s seventh season, Season of Opulence, Winking Studios has continued to contribute to the production of 3D characters, 3D weapons, and 3D rigging, working closely with developer Bungie to bring key visual assets in the game to life. Over the years, the Winking team has accompanied Destiny 2 through numerous seasonal updates. This long-term collaboration has also enabled the team to build extensive experience in the development and communication processes of overseas AAA game projects.
A Production Team Growing Alongside the Game
With its rich lore, distinctive art direction, and exacting design standards, Destiny 2 has created a science-fiction universe beloved by players around the world. For the production teams involved, maintaining consistent quality throughout a long development cycle—while continuing to improve efficiency amid version iterations and changing requirements—has always been central to moving the project forward.
To meet these demanding development requirements, Winking drew on years of game art experience and transformed that expertise into an increasingly strong collaborative rhythm with the Bungie team. From accurately interpreting the art style to closely aligning production pipelines, both teams established a robust working mechanism through continuous, close communication—one capable of adapting to the needs of different development stages. This trust and understanding, built over time, enabled Winking to consistently deliver visual assets that met Destiny 2’s standards with every update.
Destiny 2: Season of Arrivals
Dana Zhang, who began working on Destiny 2 in 2019 and now serves as Project Management Leader for Winking Studios’ Europe and North America region, is one of the team’s longest-serving members on the project. She has witnessed firsthand how the partnership between Winking and Destiny 2 evolved from its initial adjustment period into the mature understanding it enjoys today.
Dana recalls that when the team first joined the project, the exceptionally high quality expectations of an overseas AAA production required a substantial investment of time to understand the developer’s creative standards. From artistic details to process specifications, every step was repeatedly reviewed and refined. The adjustment period was not easy, but through repeated communication and revision, the team gradually developed an efficient way of working with an international development team, laying a stronger foundation for the project that followed.
As the collaboration deepened, the Winking team became increasingly familiar with the game’s content and quality standards, while building practical experience and sound judgment in managing large-scale international projects. For Dana, the journey from exploration to growth forged more than technical alignment: it also gave the team confidence in the face of challenges, making it one of the most valuable outcomes of the seven-year collaboration.
Long-Term Trust, a Foundation for Stable Collaboration
The long and stable partnership between Winking Studios and Destiny 2 has been sustained not only by a shared commitment to quality, but—more importantly—by the deep mutual understanding built throughout the journey.
The project management team noted that Bungie consistently maintained an open and efficient approach to communication, enabling both sides to exchange ideas promptly and solve challenges together throughout production. Within this collaborative rhythm, the production team’s involvement in Destiny 2 gradually grew beyond project execution into a genuine identification with, and emotional connection to, the game itself. Dana described Destiny 2 as one of the most comfortable projects she has worked on—and one that gave her the strongest sense of belonging.
Recognizing the Creative Energy Behind the Game
Across seven years of collaboration, every character, every piece of equipment, and every update was shaped by countless rounds of consideration and refinement from the creative teams behind them.
YanLong Chang, Art Lead for Destiny 2 at Winking Studios, shared that while working on the Destiny 2 × Star Wars crossover armor sets, the greatest challenge was not simply completing the models. It was faithfully recreating iconic equipment from the films while ensuring that each piece also conformed to Destiny 2’s universe, art direction, and production specifications. To reproduce every structural line with precision, the team consulted extensive reference materials and repeatedly adjusted proportions and details, striking a balance between authentic realism and game design.
Destiny 2: Renegades
Destiny 2: Renegades
Destiny 2: Renegades
Beyond the technical challenges, the themes of different seasons also provided creators with a steady source of inspiration. YanLong was particularly impressed by the equipment from Season 21, Season of the Deep. Its designs incorporated deep-sea creatures and fish-tail-like flowing silhouettes to create a truly distinctive visual style, and the final results received high praise from Bungie.
Destiny 2: Season of Deep
Destiny 2: Season of Deep
Destiny 2: Season of Deep
Contributing to Destiny 2 not only gave Winking’s team practical experience on a major AAA project, but also exposed its artists to a wider range of creative perspectives. From futuristic science fiction and Gothic aesthetics to fantasy and religious motifs, diverse cultural languages intertwine to form Destiny 2’s unique space-opera universe—continually expanding each creator’s design horizons throughout the production process.
The Journey Continues, and the Creative Spirit Moves Forward
In 2026, Destiny 2 enters its 30th season, marking an important chapter in the seven-year collaboration between Winking Studios and Bungie.
As Destiny 2’s updates officially come to a close, Dana admits that it is difficult not to feel a sense of loss. She said:
It had long since become more than a job; it was an inseparable part of our lives. Although it has now come to an end, I feel fortunate to have witnessed so many of its greatest moments.
For Winking Studios, contributing to the evolution of Destiny 2 has been an invaluable creative experience. From its characters and weapons to every detail within the game world, each element reflects the combined efforts of many teams working together.
We thank Bungie for its support and close collaboration throughout this journey. Looking ahead, Winking Studios will continue to apply its global production capabilities and extensive game development experience to more top-tier development partnerships, creating exciting game experiences for players around the world.
“May your Light never fade.”
Explore More Destiny 2 Artwork by Winking Studios: https://www.artstation.com/winkingart/albums/11720846
