The Destiny 2 controversy train continues to roll along. In addition to news that the Curse of Osiris expansion locks some non-DLC owners out of vanilla content, a Bungie job listing was discovered that points to the developer being committed to using the contentious Eververse shop to monetize end-game player progression.
The Eververse shop was introduced in Destiny 1 as a way to fund content additional content and events added to the game without forcing players to purchase an expansion. The shop was mostly limited to cosmetic items that did not impact player expansion at the time as Bungie added events like the Sparrow Racing League, The Dawning, Age of Triumph, and Festival of the Lost.
Destiny 2 brought Eververse back and expanded its collection of items and how players can earn items. Bright Engrams, which are essentially loot boxes, can be earned through leveling a Guardian or purchased with real-world cash.
The items in the Destiny 2 Eververse shop largely do not have any gameplay impact beyond an XP booster, but players noticed an important change. The types of items that would normally be earned as loot drops after completing a Raid or Nightfall Strike are now only available through the Bright Engrams in Eververse.
This change contributed toward grumbling over how Destiny 2 lacked a sufficient end-game to continue to bring core players back. A Senior Progression Designer job listing shows Bungie is committed to this approach.
The job listing asks for a designer to help “Create sustainable player progression and chase through Destiny 2 ‘s Bright Engram” and help “craft a long-term vision for the Eververse.” It goes on to describe how Bungie wants to implement new features and systems to improve player engagement, retention, and monetization across multiple expansions and seasons.
This has become a growing trend in AAA gaming, and players have grudgingly accepted some degree of post-release monetization through loot boxes. However, tying player or character progression to loot boxes and microtransactions has created a fierce backlash from gamers in titles like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 .
Fortunately, player progression and gameplay in Destiny 2 is not tied anywhere near as severely to random items as Battlefront 2 . The main concern from the fanbase is how the focus on Bright Engrams and the monetization of the Eververse shop are taking away the drive and enjoyment of earning rare Exotic items, Ghost Shells, shaders, and the like through gameplay instead.
Bungie is obviously committed to the Eververse approach as much as the Destiny 2 community is vehement in their opposition. It will be interesting to see if a compromise is reached.
