Destiny 2 Update Wipes Player Usernames

Following an update, the popular online shooter Destiny 2 experienced a significant issue where its moderation tools inadvertently altered the account names of a large number of players. This article delves into the developers' responses, official statements, and what you can do if your Bungie Name was affected.

Destiny 2 Players' Bungie Names Unexpectedly Get Changed Following Update

Bungie Distributing Name Change Tokens

This week, Destiny 2 players encountered an unexpected change to their account names, known as Bungie Names, after a recent game update. Many players reported that their usernames were replaced with "Guardian" followed by a string of random numbers. This issue, which began affecting players around August 14, was triggered by Bungie's name moderation tool.

"We are tracking an issue where a high number of account names have been changed by our Bungie name moderation tool," the Destiny 2 team announced on Twitter (X). "We are actively investigating and expect to have more information tomorrow, including details on an additional name change token for all players."

Bungie's systems are designed to automatically change account names that violate the company’s terms of service, such as those containing offensive language or personal information. However, in this case, many players found their names changed to "Guardian[Random Number]" despite not violating any rules. This led to widespread confusion and frustration, with some players noting they had used the same username since 2015 without issues.

In response, Bungie quickly acknowledged the error and launched an investigation. The Destiny 2 team used a series of tweets to communicate with the affected players, confirming that a "high number" of them were impacted by the unexpected change.

The following day, Bungie reported that they had pinpointed the cause of the issue and implemented fixes to prevent further accidental name changes. "We have identified the issue that was forcing a high number of Bungie name changes. We have applied a server-side change to prevent the issue from impacting accounts moving forward," the developers shared on Twitter (X).

"As noted yesterday, we are still planning to distribute name change tokens to all players at a later date to assist. As we have more information, we'll be sure to share it with you," they added.

As Bungie works to resolve this unexpected issue, players are advised to remain patient and await further updates. Those affected by the accidental name changes can look forward to the upcoming distribution of name change tokens and continued communication from Bungie.