Bungie Addresses Controversial Destiny 2 Starter Pack

Highlights

• Bungie faced backlash for releasing a $15 microtransaction pack alongside Season of the Wish in Destiny 2.
• The studio has recently been dealing with various difficulties, including layoffs and delayed content.
• The Destiny 2 community reacted negatively to the Starter Pack, criticizing its price and comparing it to other more valuable in-game purchases. Bungie acknowledged the community’s concerns and removed the pack from online stores.

After launching a new $15 microtransaction pack for Destiny 2 alongside Season of the Wish, which largely triggered the fanbase, Bungie comments on the situation and ultimately removes it completely. It’s been a rough few weeks for Bungie, who recently suffered through layoffs impacting a large group of employees including some long-tenured individuals like Destiny 2 composer Michael Salvatori. Worse yet, the studio’s upcoming content like The Final Shape expansion was also hit with a four-month delay, pushing it out from February to June 2024, extending the recently released season in the process.

With the community already on edge from all of this less than ideal news, including the revelation that the Destiny 2 player count has significantly fallen off, it didn’t take long before a new controversy arrived. As a free-to-play title, Bungie typically employs microtransactions to generate revenue, largely encompassing cosmetic items, though on occasion, the studio has also released things like a Dungeon Key pack, which allows players to take on these unique activities after purchasing. Alongside Season of the Wish, Bungie created a Starter Pack, which included 3 less popular exotic guns, a Sparrow, Ghost Shell, Ship, and various resources like glimmer, ascendant shards, and more.

What Bungie likely didn’t expect was the Destiny 2 community to react so negatively to this discovery. Many in the community, including prominent voices like Datto and Rick Kackis, slammed this new bundle, aimed at newer players who may not realize how unnecessary the Destiny 2 Starter Pack bundle actually is. Worse yet, the $15 price tag is nearly the same price as the Forsaken Pack, which includes access to the Shattered Throne Dungeon, Last Wish Raid, and around 20 exotic weapons that are more within the game’s current meta. It’s also more expensive than what it costs to buy the current pass for Season of the Wish, which also unlocks the new Dragon’s Breath exotic rocket launcher just for buying it.

Bungie’s Response

The backlash became so severe that Bungie put out a statement addressing the community, admitting that the Starter Pack is “not something bringing joy.” As a result, the studio has removed the pack entirely from online stores like Steam, as Bungie heard and agreed with community concerns that there are other parts of Destiny 2 that newer players “should want to dive into first before chasing these Exotic weapons, cosmetics, and upgrade materials.”

While there are certainly some in the community who feel items like this should be free for newer players as a gesture of goodwill, it’s not a situation that will go away anytime soon. In fact, Bungie revealed a brand-new crossover for Season of the Wish with CD Projekt RED’s popular Witcher video game franchise. Teaming up, the studios put together a new set of armor for each class based on the various Witcher Houses, alongside emotes and other cosmetic-based items.