After a severe backlash to a new Destiny 2 Starter Pack, Bungie has not only pulled it from sale just a day after releasing it but also apologized for making it in the first place. To commemorate the launch of the newest Destiny 2 season, Season of Wish, Bungie put out a $15 content pack that was meant to help newcomers get into the game. The pack immediately came under fire for being a greedy cash grab because many fans argued it wasn’t a helpful way of introducing new players.
It seems Bungie ultimately agrees with or at least recognizes the complaints as the pack was quietly removed from sale, with the official Destiny 2 Team X account (formerly known as Twitter) acknowledging this in a post on Nov. 29.
“We… have been monitoring the conversation around what you’ve been enjoying and what you haven’t. We’ll start things off with the Starter Pack, which is not something bringing joy,’ Bungie said. “Which is why we’ve pulled it from stores. We’ve heard your concerns and agreed that there are other parts of Destiny 2 that new players should want to dive into first before chasing these Exotic weapons, cosmetics, and upgrade materials.”
While it’s always good to see a studio admit to its mistakes, Bungie is running short on goodwill at the moment, having incited anger about Destiny 2’s monetization with its The Witcher-themed armor sets last week. This also comes a month after Bungie laid off about 100 employees following drops in revenue and player retention.
That’s ultimately the biggest problem facing Destiny 2—not enough people are playing it, which means not enough people are spending money on it. Microtransactions like the Starter Pack are clearly attempts to offset that, but all it does is upset the playerbase more and ironically risk pushing more people away from it. The Season of Wish doesn’t seem to have done enough to bump numbers up, at least according to player figures on Steam, which only puts even more pressure on the next expansion, The Final Shape, to succeed.
