A popular Destiny streamer calls Destiny 2 one“Microtransaction hell” and hits the nerve of the community. It sparked much approval and heated debate about the soul of Destiny. Many players now feel betrayed and sold by Bungie. And not just because of the many small paywalls.
This has angered the community more and more: Destiny 2’s monetization programs have long been criticized. If you don’t buy the complete all-inclusive package for a DLC year from Bungie, you pay extra.
Even old extensions like Forsaken, which are long gone, are still offered as “Legacy”. This is where you pay for the “Forsaken Pack” just to get the Exo weapons and endgame activities. There is no content.
All of this has led to a lot of feedback, including from Aztecross, and too much praise for finally someone having the courage to say it and be so open about it.
And then there’s marathons.
Destiny 2: Season of the Deep drops Guardians into the water
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“1% innovation, 2% something new and 97% greed”
More and more payment barriers are causing resentment: Even with NPCs like Shaw Han in the cosmodrome. Anyone who comes to him as a new player and discovers the Exo quest for “Arbalest” first has to pay. Because you only get that if you own the latest expansion. And this despite the fact that the weapon is actually in the general loot pool.
Bungie has gradually broken down its outstanding loot shooter into many small components that are sold individually to the players if they are not all-inclusive and give Bungie the full “annual advance”.
Combined with the current instability of the game and dissatisfaction with the overall situation between bugs, cheaters, emergency maintenance and the feeling that Bungie abandoned their keepers for the new IP “Marathon”, Aztecross spoke to many people’s hearts.
Bungie presents a new shooter after 10 years – Marathon brings exactly what many players want for Destiny 2
His video garnered nearly half a million views and over 10,000 comments in less than a day. Many players shared their own experiences and frustrations under the video, indicating a growing rift between Bungie and the loyal player community at the moment.
Who is Aztecross?
Destiny YouTuber Aztecross is a veteran of the loot shooter. He has accompanied Destiny 1 and 2 for several years and therefore knows many construction sites and problems that Bungie has to deal with in the season and DLCs. His videos on YouTube mainly revolve around the loot shooter, associated class builds, and explainer videos.
You can watch the full video here:
Aztecross criticizes Bungie’s current monetization with apt words
Community calls for boycott: There is also a lot of concern about the state, content, and innovations of Destiny 2, as well as how Bungie is currently handling feedback. Here, players increasingly feel that their voices are no longer being heard.
So the keeper StatementAcademic820 comments on the video on Reddit that Destiny 2 basically only consists of 1% innovation, [2 %] something new and 97% greed is there.
I think Aztecross’s new video is phenomenal, as does he [darin] uncovering the many ways Bungie is showing its greedy corporate mentality. Watching this video makes me sad that the game I have been loyal to since launch has now let me down so much. I’m tired of Bungie lying to us and treating the community so badly. […] We will no longer tolerate the way Bungie treats us.
comments the custodian StatementAcademic820
In his video, Aztecross also draws attention to “Marathon”, Destiny 2’s new IP. The YouTuber refers to the fact that the development of Marathon would have changed Destiny 2 as well. Especially because there are things Destiny players have been eagerly awaiting for years.
As Paul Tassi of forbes states in his personal analysis on the subject:
Bungie has almost completely abandoned the Destiny PvP that hundreds of thousands of people still play every day, and is instead putting the bulk of that talent directly into Marathon, and if Marathon becomes a hit, it’s only likely to get worse.
writes Paul Tassi of forbes in his article on the Aztecross video
You feel abandoned and forgotten by Bungie
A fear that many players have: While Bungie has never communicated it that way, many guardians are currently assuming that the AAA studio will drop Destiny 2 for Marathon.
Partly because Bungie currently feels let down and forgotten, and partly because many of the well-known developers are now working on this new game, such as Kevin Yanes, the now former Senior Design Lead of Destiny 2.
Player Zero_Emerald even says to Bungie, “Loss my trust now, lose my support later.”
Why should I still invest in Marathon? I don’t want Marathon to fail, but if the average gamer were a smarter consumer, it should be a failure. Because who would look at content vaults, broken promises, radio silence, Eververse and all that other stuff and have any faith left? […]
comments on Zero_Emerald on Reddit
And the mood on MeinMMO is no better either. As Millerntorian writes under our latest weekly reset:
[…] Due to the alignment of the Bungie Store, triumphs are somehow just discount coupons for some overpriced collectible stuff. Or a lettering over the beet, after which in a few weeks no more “The Colonel” will crow. Too bad, I’ve always really enjoyed Destiny; such a creeping “decay” is already wistful to look at. I find it unfortunate that this franchise is being so neglectedly buried.
writes Millerntorian on MeinMMO
A player named TheOvercusser puts it even more bluntly, stating, “The final form is just a hand with the middle finger raised and the Marathon logo painted on the nail.”
Bungie’s next steps will decide many things: The community is currently in a dilemma: on the one hand, it is very attached to Destiny 2 and has invested many hours in the game.
On the other hand, players are increasingly disappointed with the decisions and lack of transparency on the part of Bungie. This conflict between loyalty and disappointment has recently created a clear rift between players and the development team that is palpable in every Destiny bubble, whether on Reddit, YouTube, or the many Discords.
While some players hope that Bungie will finally listen to community feedback and take concrete steps to address concerns, others are skeptical and have serious doubts about real changes.
The loss of confidence and disappointment over recent events has already caused some players to ditch Destiny 2 for good and look for alternative games. Accordingly, it is up to Bungie to reestablish dialogue with the community and offer credible solutions to regain trust.
How do you see the development and future relationship between Bungie and the Destiny 2 community? And do you also think Bungie will sacrifice Destiny 2 to Marathon? Please leave us your opinion in the comments.
While Aztecross will continue to provide Destiny 2 content, another well-known Destiny 2 streamer has taken a much-needed break:
Destiny 2: YouTuber takes a break after 10 years – Even Bungie says thank you!