Destiny 2 to go Free to Play, other News

[Isadoorian]

You've heard it here folks!

Several months back Bungie (Oni, Halo, Marathon Devs) announced that they'd be separating from Activision and that Bungie will be keeping the Rights to their beloved IP, and have been at the drawing board with exciting plans and today those plans have been revealed!

- Destiny 2 will go Free to Play on PC, the Base Game will be renamed to "Destiny 2: New Light" and will contain all Year One content (Curse of Osiris Expansion, Warmind Expansion, Forsaken Expansion along with the Annual Pass) and will be moving to Steam from the Blizzard.net platform in the Fall (September 17th).

- All PC players will be able to migrate all of their belongings (Characters, Vault stash, etc. etc.) from the Blizzard.net version to the Steam version for free at no additional cost.

- Cross Saves for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, along with Google's new Google Stadia platform

- No more Exclusive Content

- New Stand Alone Expansion, titled "Shadowkeep" will release September 17th, the exact same time as the game goes Free to Play and takes Guardians back to the Moon!

Shadowkeep is already up for Pre-Purchase on Steam and will include everything else and at a fantastic price as well! ($35 USD, $39.99 CAD). There's also a Digital Deluxe Version available for a little more that has in-game goodies, and a Collectors Edition which has lots of goodies.

Shadowkeep Expansion Reveal Trailer:

Steam Store Page for Shadowkeep: Pre-purchase Destiny 2 on Steam

Bungie Store Pages for the Collectors Edition if any of you fancy that kind of thing

NA: PREORDER: Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Collector's Edition - PS4

EU: Bungie Store EU

 

[Misery]

I just want to say a couple of things, as a warning to potential players here:

1. Dont pre-order. Just dont. This concept made alot of sense way back when, when brick-and-mortar stores were the only way to get games. Initial shipments were limited, and pre-ordering only existed to guarantee that you got a copy on day one, as they ran out very fast, and then you'd have to wait a week or two for more to come in. It usually cost about $5, not the entire price. It did not benefit the publisher at all. Simply a practical thing.

Pre-ordering NOW has zero practical purpose. At all. There is literally zero limit to the amount of products produced... it is infinite, a new set of files created for you at download. It exists to benefit the PUBLISHER and nobody else. This is how they get you to pay for something that isnt actually there yet. In other words, you're paying for a product where the quality cant be vouched for, and where reviews cannot be written yet (which is seriously the entire point in most cases).

Have a least a LITTLE patience. Wait for the expansion (or the main game in most cases) to release, and maybe check out a couple of early videos of it (and believe me, they'll pop up IMMEDIATELY). Dont get me wrong: I recognize that Destiny 2 already has been out before, and people have played it. BUT, any new version contains the potential for massive problems. As has been proven the hard way a bazillion times before. Wait until you can see for yourself that nothing has gone wrong, THEN buy.

2. Beware of greed. "Free to play" usually isnt a good thing these days. Most of the time, it's objectively negative. The concept is only used by AAA publishers/developers because it is a very, very easy way to slowly persuade users to pay MORE than the game's normal price, and it gives them even more excuse to chop up incoming content. It has no purpose other than aggressive monetization. Now, I know Activision is no longer a part of the deal here. And that's a good thing! But Bungie is still a corporation/company like any other, and their one and only true goal is to profit (this is the case even if individuals working for them have a passion for what they do). That's simply how it works. Dont think of them like your friend or buddy, because they arent. Seriously, thinking of a company/corporation in that way is probably the single biggest mistake any consumer can make. Go into it with some sensible caution. The potential for trouble IS there.


Dont get me wrong: I'm not saying the game is going to be bad or anything. I think it has quite a bit of potential actually, with Bungie having escaped from Sauron- er, from Activision's dark control. Heck, I may try it out myself later, not sure yet (but DEFINITELY not until I've seen plenty of content related to it first, after release). But the AAA industry has gotten bad BECAUSE people keep falling for these things. And big publishers/developers like this are absolute masters of pulling this stuff off.

After all, it always sucks to blow a pile of hard-earned cash on a new product, only to find that what you got, isnt what was promised.... and that's very common these days.

I hope everyone that does pick it up has fun, and gets a quality product. but... yeah. Be careful, that's all I'm saying.

 

[xudo]

Having been a huge fan of both Destiny 1 and 2, I would agree with @Misery. Don't pre-order. Bungie will have messed up somewhere and Shadowkeep will have issues when it first releases. Whether that's bugs or balancing or multiplayer, something won't work like it's supposed to.

I know that having bought Destiny 2 on launch and the DLC as it came out, I've had more time with it than anyone who gets it free...but I have to say I am a still a bit miffed about the whole of year one going free to play. Having said that, Osiris and Warmind were not worth the original prices.