Over the years, it’s become apparent that many of Destiny 2’s monetization tactics are based on mobile gaming strategies that reward grind and limited-time content. Unfortunately, finding ways to maximize a player’s time in a game prevents it from becoming one of the best free games on PC if the focus isn’t on making the overall experience enjoyable.
Destiny 2 has always rewarded long-term effort, but the scope of the ways it seeks to divert users’ time points to a troubling and deep-seated psychological understanding that when it comes to video games, time is money.
Bungie has updated its monetization strategy several times over the years. While the company has largely moved away from Destiny 2’s microtransactions that use Eververse loot boxes to provide gameplay benefits, the game’s developers now offer players a variety of in-game add-ons, including expansions, season passes, event cards, cosmetics, activity content and merchandise. .
Allowing people to specifically pay for aspects of the game that they enjoy is not a problem in and of itself. To keep the wheels turning, the game must be profitable. The problem arises when developers, likely under the influence of the marketing and finance teams, cleverly monetize using psychological tactics that have long been around in shoddy mobile games to entice players to play more.
Mobile games are not designed for entertainment so much as to be addictive. Many of them are initially free to attract a large audience. Basically, the game must be something fun to attract the users. But to drive sales, all you have to do is encourage players to keep playing. To do this, developers often use daily signup rewards, limited-time content, or limited-time bonuses like flash sales.
Retention becomes critical because the more time a person spends in a game, the more likely they are to make in-app purchases. In theory, players keep playing because they enjoy it. But to some extent, staying involved in the game is also psychological.
Destiny 2 skins tap into trends that have people spending money on “crazy” mobile games. Just a few hours into the game, the game teases, and you could potentially earn those exotics, which have an extremely low drop rate, or get a God Roll weapon. It doesn’t matter if you’re having fun, because the amount of time and energy you put in means the return must be worth it, right?
The strategy begins to fail when it becomes clear that hard work is solely up to players to put their time into the game, starting matches to speed up experience gains. Bungie should be concerned that these players are more interested in improving their progression than just one game mode. Although Bungie was quick to respond by stating that this will speed up Destiny 2 Iron Banner ranks going forward, it still highlights a core issue with the overall shredding system.
There are plenty of other examples of developers subtly finding ways to encourage players to stay in the game and encourage them to spend money. Let’s take a look at the Destiny Event Challenge user interfaces. When qualifying Event Challenges, players must constantly visit a screen that also shows what they can earn if they upgrade their Event Cards. This acts as a marketing touchpoint to entice the player to purchase the upgraded card.
Also, Season Passes, which promise instant rewards and new content for months on end, are essentially short-term subscriptions. Some say this is reasonable for new content and story activities, but it’s important to remember that this is an addition to paid DLC and does not include activities like the 30th anniversary pack and dungeon content, which also cost money.
Few aspects of the game allow the player to progress in a truly linear fashion. For example, in Destiny 2 Season 19, when the player might be ready to move on to the next mission in the game’s story, they must first ensure that they have a certain number of Seraph Key Codes. The move seems to be in place for no real reason other than to make Guardians spend more time on other Destiny 2 activities.
While unique event cosmetics, dungeons, and armor sets are great, desiring them shouldn’t be the result of psychological trickery. In the long run, prioritizing time over fun in a game will turn off even the most dedicated gamers. Pushing this territory too far risks undermining the game’s broader appeal as one of the best FPS games out there.
Destiny 2 Lightfall will launch on February 28, so check out the best Destiny 2 builds to get ready.
Source : PC Gamesn
