Destiny 2 changes the way money is earned. Instead of relying on purchasable loot boxes, the Bright Engrams, players should know what they are spending money on. This is set to take effect with Season 10, which starts on Tuesday. Destiny 2 is following the trend set by Fortnite a few years ago.
This is the announcement from Bungie: Head Luke Smith states: They want players to know what something costs before they buy it.
The Bright Engrams will no longer be sold starting with Season 10. However, they will remain a free part of the Season Pass.
What are these Engrams? The Bright Engrams in Destiny 2 are seasonal loot boxes that contain cosmetic items. They match the season or event that was active when players received them.
These Engrams could either be obtained by playing Destiny 2 and leveling up, or by going to the shop to Tess Everis and getting loot boxes for Silver, the premium currency.
Previously, players received one loot box for each level up after the max level, but now they are tied to the Season Pass.
In the future, it will only be possible to obtain loot boxes by leveling up the Season Pass and not anymore in the shop.
Cash Shops Through the Ages
Why are they doing this? This is a shift in the industry initiated by Fortnite:
- Even with Overwatch (2016), it was common to give players “loot boxes” from which a random item could drop. Sometimes it was a grand prize, a particularly rare item, but mostly it was a dud, a particularly common item. In Overwatch, players could earn loot boxes or buy them for real money.
- With Fortnite: Battle Royale (2017), the popular model shifted to a cash shop with constantly changing offerings. Players could now buy the cosmetic item they wanted; the “luck factor” disappeared.
Fortnite reportedly earned three billion US dollars in 2018 with this model and the sale of battle passes .
At the same time, criticism of loot boxes emerged. EA, which relied on loot boxes in FIFA 20, had to defend their business model before the British government. They claimed it was not gambling, but rather “ethically sound surprise mechanics.”
There were also regulations requiring publishers in China to disclose the exact percentages for the probabilities of contained items.
Monetization in Destiny 2 Totally Jumbled
What’s behind this: There has been some movement in recent years: The trend in the gaming industry is shifting away from loot boxes towards conscious purchases. Bungie apparently wants to follow this trend in Destiny 2 starting Season 10.
This aligns Bungie with the zeitgeist, but it’s not as if Bungie is foregoing a huge source of income.
The surprising thing is how little this change seems to matter to players in Destiny 2. Bungie itself seems to prioritize this issue very little: Bright Engrams were somehow the 18th thing mentioned in Luke Smith’s announcement, as the blog post was nearing its end. Much more attention was given to the news that legendary weapons will have an expiration date.
This indicates that the “Eververse concept” of Destiny is not working: Because players could already buy items directly. Apparently, hardly anyone purchased loot boxes in Destiny 2 anyway.
Destiny 2 currently has an overwhelming monetization with
- purchaseable expansion Shadowkeep
- extra purchasable seasons
- a season pass with cosmetic items
- a cash shop with cosmetic items
- and the loot boxes with cosmetic items
It doesn’t make much difference if a somewhat superfluous part falls away with the purchasable loot boxes. Especially since players can continue to earn Bright Engrams. Because the Bright Engrams will remain as rewards in the game.
Removing the loot boxes from the cash shop is a decision with “symbolic character.” From the player’s perspective, not much seems to change.
- What new cosmetics are available in Destiny 2 can be seen here.
- We will take a look at a special new exotic, a probably ultra-fast automatic rifle, in this article.
