“On [Destiny 2] Forsaken we were really frustrated that you had to play all the other content to even buy it” - Bungie

Destiny 2 developer Bungie recently split from publisher Activision and is now free to do as it pleases. One of its first moves as an independent company was to tear down some barriers, making the base game completely free.

Before the split, if you wanted to play the latest Destiny 2 expansion you’d have to buy all the previous content as well. This isn’t something Bungie has ever been comfortable with.

“We've become our own publisher, so what started to happen is that we're really starting to have a conversation with our fans and with our team about what do we want to do to achieve our vision, which is kind of one global community, breaking down barriers, and so what kind of game is the thing that's going to help us achieve that,” Destiny 2 project lead Scott Taylor explained.

“The kinds of things that are changing now is that we are looking at ways that we can... for instance, on Forsaken we were really frustrated that you had to play all the other content to even buy it. So one of the things that we're doing with Shadowkeep is we're making it so that anyone who downloads New Light, which doesn't cost anything on any of the platforms, and if they get excited about something in New Light, or a season, they can just kind of opt into that content. So it's like the way the industry and the way our players are evolving is making us look at the kinds of games we make, and then that's the thing that's pivoting us into those new directions.”

For more on the future of your favourite loot shooter, check out our chat with Bungie about Destiny 2: New Light.