Destiny 2 is currently facing issues again, and this time it’s fans who are unable to log in to the loot shooter and are complaining. They have paid for the latest expansion and are now locked out, but Steam wants to help the fans.
What are fans complaining about? Many Guardians from various countries are currently struggling with a major issue in Destiny 2: they cannot log in. Every time they try to get through the menu screen, they receive the error message “TAPIR” – this is usually displayed when the servers are under maintenance, but that is not the case right now.
Such problems are usually communicated by Bungie on the official Bungie Help account, but there is no sign of that. Fans have therefore turned the internet upside down to find out what the problem is. In doing so, they came across a small note from Bungie.
Bungie locks out fans due to legal requirements
What has Bungie said about the issue? Bungie had remained silent, but the uproar was great and many reported in the official developer forum about the aforementioned problem. The team then responded with a brief statement regarding the issue. The developers announced: “Destiny services are not available when access is legally restricted.”
Bungie does not specify which laws are being referred to. However, what is known are some countries where this new restriction is active. These include Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and other regions.
The fact is, players have no chance to play Destiny 2 due to these laws – and this, despite having paid for the new expansion “Beyond Light”. Many feel betrayed and have therefore contacted Steam to get a refund for the expansion. Normally, this would violate Steam’s guidelines, but Valve is making an exception.
How does Steam want to help? Steam’s policy states that a refund for a digital good is only possible if you have played it for less than 2 hours or have owned it for less than 14 days.
This would not apply to many fans of Destiny 2, but Steam is making an exception here. Bungie did not directly and publicly communicate this restriction, so fans affected by the TAPIR error have the chance to get a refund for the expansion.
And even though this is not an optimal solution and fans are still locked out of their game, they still have the opportunity to get their money back.
This is now another blow to Bungie, as the loss of this player base would further decrease the already dwindling player numbers of Destiny 2. The problem strongly resembles the debacle surrounding Helldivers 2, as a large portion of players were also banned from the servers despite their purchase. You can find more about this here: Steam bans purchase of Helldivers 2 in many countries due to PSN compulsion
