For many players of Destiny 2, it has been the case for years that Bungie develops their game primarily according to the wishes of Twitch streamers and YouTubers. A community manager is now pushing back against the accusations from the Guardians.
The general sentiment in the community is that Bungie only caters to the needs and desires of the top 1%, that is, the Destiny elite. This particularly refers to big Twitch streamers and YouTubers like Gladd (in the title image) in PvE or PvP pros like IFrostbolt.
The old complaint is now back in the spotlight. This time, however, Bungie is defending itself against the allegations. They also counter the statement that the devs do not play their own game.
This incident fuels the fire: On reddit, a post is currently heating up the Destiny community. It specifically states that Bungie employees should refrain from playing Trials with streamers.
Because this way they would gain a better understanding of the game, as they are not always overwhelmed by familiar faces trying to ingratiate themselves – such is the criticism. The post from February 22, 2021, has received 9,400 upvotes in less than a day, and more than 1,200 comments discuss it among the Guardians.
- The top comment, with 7,300 upvotes and numerous awards, suggests that the Bungie devs should come together and step into the Trials as a team themselves.
- This way, they would feel what it is like to face 3 flawless PvP champions with their brand new Master Trials weapons in the first match as a “normal” Guardian.
- This could then be streamed, so that viewers could see the faces of the devs getting ruthlessly beaten for 5 rounds in a row or opponents who have so little fun that they jump off the map.
The users take this opportunity to criticize the “miserable state” of the Trials, PvP in general, and Destiny 2 as a whole.
I don’t want this to be understood as “Bungie only listens to streamers”
For Bungie, community manager Dylan “dmg04” Gaffner is stepping up. He apparently felt addressed by the allegations of playing with streamers.
What does the Bungie employee say? Gaffner first thanks for the feedback and then elaborates. He enjoys playing with Guardians who struggle with the Trials on a weekly basis, build characters, and also discusses the game’s state with them [the streamers] outside of Trials matches.
But he does not want this to be understood as “Bungie only listens to streamers.” Therefore, he further counters:
We collect feedback daily – not only from people in our forums, on reddit or Twitter, but also in direct conversations with friends and other employees.
Anyone who looks closely at Gaffner’s history will notice that he has been an enthusiastic PvP player for years. On Twitter, he regularly celebrates his successes – even without streamers.
He also often appears in other areas of Destiny 2. The accusation that Bungie employees do not play their own game definitely does not hold true in this case.
- MeinMMO author Philipp Hansen even coincidentally met Gaffner via the official app and made the heroic Menagerie uncertain with him shortly after its release (via Twitter).
- The currently popular weapon Last Word is extremely rare. Gaffner has also personally experienced this and reported it to the Bungie team. They are now looking into the drop chances.
The savior of Destiny 2 fulfills wishes: The wish for Bungie devs to enter the Trials without streamer support and be overwhelmed by top streamers has actually come true.
Joe Blackburn is considered the new strong man at Bungie and is supposed to be the new destiny savior. However, when he crossed paths with ZK Mushroom and FrostBolt in the Trials, there wasn’t much to save.
At least Blackburn tweeted about the defeat with self-irony and was able to score a few kills against the opponent team:
As a defining moment for the claim that Bungie employees do not play their own game, a painful performance by legendary Deej is noted. The now former community manager experienced a terrible stream in 2015 when he played Prison of Elders live. He often died there, which he was reminded of even after the stream.
The accusations are not new
In the community, it has been firmly rooted for years that Bungie listens too much to streamers or content creators when shaping Destiny. Many Guardians feel that a few more prominent gamers have too much influence, and that Bungie essentially programs for them.
The opinion of the vast majority is not adequately acknowledged. We read this repeatedly in the comments on MeinMMO. When Bungie invites so-called community summits, there are almost only well-known figures present – including the German-speaking Nexxoss Gaming. But too few everyday or casual Guardians.
What the defenders say: Besides the critics, there are also fans of the game who have no problems with the content creators:
- Some say that content creators who play Destiny for many hours every day know better and recognize problems on a larger scale. It makes sense to orient oneself at the top.
- Other Guardians believe that just because streamers are loud, their problems only affect a small part of the player base. A loud luxury problem was encountered by Gladd, who made the statement that the raid was too easy and received significant backlash: Destiny 2: Twitch streamer says elitist stuff about the raid – regrets it bitterly
- On reddit, some users also joke that it’s easy to say “The streamers are to blame” and thus have a convenient excuse for everything.
- Others dismiss the criticism of streamers as hate or jealousy.
Does Bungie really only listen to streamers?
Throughout the lifespan of Destiny 2, there are numerous examples showing that Bungie aligns itself with a broad base of players. We have selected a few for you.
- The launch of Destiny 2 was very successful but ran out of steam quickly. In retrospect, the view is that Bungie mainly catered to casuals here and that Destiny 2 was far too easy for almost a year.
- You demanded at that time that Destiny must become harder again – you didn’t want everything handed to you anymore.
- Streamers like Gladd thrive on challenges that “normal” Guardians can hardly overcome. When streamers push to the limit and sit on a puzzle until Bungie has to put them to bed.
- In the real Trials, there are now bounties that make usually rare items accessible to all – even if they have to die for it. Many again find that too “casual-friendly”.
Do you have the impression that Bungie pays too much attention to a small number of high-reach streamers or YouTubers and thus loses sight of the majority of loyal Guardians? Do you think the devs play their game themselves and understand it? Let us know in the comments.
The Destiny developers recently had to address another issue: Bungie apologizes for prohibited Nazi keywords in Destiny 2
