Bungie Shifts Destiny’s Focus Away From ‘Monolithic DLC’ Toward Time-Limited Events

Back in October, Bungie introduced cosmetic microtransactions to its blockbuster hit, Destiny. That major change was dropped in, leaving some fans confused about what it meant for the game’s second year.

On that same day, Kotaku reported that Bungie and Activision were abandoning the DLC model in favor of the in-game purchases. That meant that mini-expansions like The Dark Below and House of Wolves wouldn’t be repeated in year two.

Two months later, Bungie has now confirmed this. Speaking with Eurogamer, senior designer Derek Carroll spoke plainly about what players can expect.

"With Taken King we are moving to a more event-based model - things like Festival of the Lost and Sparrow racing, which is our winter event, and then smaller events such as Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris every weekend,” Carroll says. "Rather than doing these giant, monolithic DLC packs, this way everybody who's an owner of Taken King can enjoy these things."

He goes on to suggest that instead of the longer lead time promotion, the events, like Sparrow Racing League, are designed as surprises. He also hints (without outright committing) that the same format will be in place for future events. In other words, players will be able to participate for free, but cosmetic items will be sold for real money currency (called silver).

You can read the entire interview at Eurogamer. For more on Destiny, including major balancing changes hitting today, check out our previous coverage.

[Source: Eurogamer]

Our Take
While it would have been better for Bungie and Activison to pair the microtransaction announcement with the up-side (players won’t be paying for DLC content), there might be some reason behind the timing. While unlikely, there was a chance that the microtransactions might not have been profitable. With those revenues taking the place of fixed-price DLC, the publisher probably wanted to have some evidence of success before committing to the plan.