Designing a companion app that keeps players connected anytime, anywhere.
2013-2019
Sr. UX Designer
Destiny Franchise
Companion App
OVERVIEW
The Destiny Companion App was envisioned as more than just a utility—it was designed to make Destiny’s world feel alive even when players were offline. The goal was to give players a way to manage their gear, track their stats, and engage with the game’s world anytime, anywhere. The ambition was massive, but technological constraints meant we had to focus on what would provide the most value to players in a seamless, intuitive way. The result was an app that introduced real-time gear management and an open API, setting a new standard for companion apps in gaming.
Challenges
Balancing Ambition with Technological Limitations
The vision for the Companion App was bold—it was meant to keep players connected to Destiny at all times. However, the technology simply wasn’t there to fully realize this vision. The challenge was to distill the concept into meaningful, achievable features that still delivered on the idea of a persistent, ever-connected world.
Designing a Truly Useful Second-Screen Experience
We didn’t want to create an app that just replicated in-game menus. It had to serve a distinct purpose, enhancing the game experience rather than duplicating it. The team focused on questions like: What do players need from a second screen? What actions make sense outside the game? How can we make interactions feel immediate and effortless?
The Rise of Third-Party Solutions
One of the most surprising outcomes was how the open API changed the landscape. While Bungie had a history of exposing player stats for community sites, we took it further—enabling developers to build entire applications around Destiny’s ecosystem. This led to the creation of Destiny Item Manager (DIM), a third-party tool that quickly became essential to hardcore players. While this was a massive success for the ecosystem, it also meant that many players preferred external tools over the official app, forcing us to rethink our approach.
Approach
Real-Time Gear Management
One of the defining features of the Companion App was allowing players to swap weapons and armor instantly. This transformed the app into a true extension of the game, rather than just an information hub. The UX had to be:
Fast and intuitive, mimicking the feel of an in-game menu.
Seamlessly connected to gameplay, enabling changes without breaking immersion.
Accessible anytime, anywhere, allowing players to react and optimize their loadouts on the fly.
Enabling Community Innovation with an Open API
Rather than keeping Destiny’s ecosystem locked within Bungie’s walls, we built the Companion App with API endpoints that allowed developers to create their own tools. This resulted in:
The rise of Destiny Item Manager (DIM), which changed how players managed their inventory.
A wave of community-built apps that optimized stat tracking, loadouts, and in-game planning.
A new industry standard, as more games followed suit by exposing APIs for player-driven innovation.
Focusing on the Bigger Picture
As we saw third-party solutions flourish, we realized that our small team was better off enabling external teams to specialize in certain areas, rather than trying to build everything ourselves. This led us to refocus the Companion App, streamlining features and prioritizing the core experience while letting community-driven solutions thrive.
the outcome
Despite the technological limitations, the Destiny Companion App became an essential tool for players, particularly for real-time gear management. More importantly, the decision to open up the ecosystem led to an explosion of third-party innovation, with DIM and other community apps becoming critical parts of the player experience. While it was humbling to see external tools become more popular than our own app in some cases, it validated our approach—giving players what they truly needed, even if it didn’t come directly from us.
Lessons Learned
A second-screen app should enhance, not duplicate, the core game. Real-time gear management turned the app into a true utility, rather than just an extension of menus. The best UX solutions sometimes come from the community, as seen with the rise of DIM and other third-party tools, which proved that external innovation can drive better experiences than a studio alone can provide. Sometimes, the right move is to step back and enable others—by scaling back and focusing on core needs, we allowed community tools to flourish, making the entire Destiny ecosystem stronger.
Final Thoughts
The Destiny Companion App redefined what a second-screen experience could be, introducing real-time gameplay interaction and an open API that empowered community-driven innovation. By focusing on what players actually needed—rather than forcing all features into one app—we helped shape an ecosystem where both Bungie and the Destiny community could thrive together. This case study highlights the ability to balance vision with reality, design for real player behavior, and embrace community-driven UX solutions.