Bungie announces the controversial decision to introduce a new microtransaction currency to Destiny called Silver, which will be added in next week’s update.
Starting next week, Destiny will have microtransactions, according to Bungie’s official announcement (though they never use the word “microtransaction”) on their website. These microtransactions will be completely optional, and they will be accessible through Tess Everis – who was previously removed from the game– and her Eververse Trading Company.
Tess Everis will be returning to the Tower on October 13th, with a “new look”, “new storefront”, and “new items to sell.” The items Tess will have for sale are 18 new emotes, which can only be purchased using a new in-game currency called Silver. Silver itself is purchased through either the PlayStation Store or the Xbox Live Marketplace using real world money.
Microtransactions are extremely controversial, as some players feel that the concept is abused at times. They draw additional anger from the community when they are included in a paid game like, as opposed to free-to-play titles where it makes more sense for microtransactions to be implemented. However, Bungie is adamant that they will not abuse microtransactions, and promises to use the additional revenue in order to have more engaging community events that will be announced later this year.
“If you’re not interested in what Tess has to offer, you won’t ever be forced to pluck an item off of her shelf. You’ll still receive updates to the game, and you won’t lose a Crucible encounter or fail to clear a Raid because you didn’t have the right Eververse Trading Company emote equipped.
Our plan is to use these new items to bolster the service provided by our live team for another full year, as they grow and create more robust and engaging events that we’ll announce later this year. It has been, and continues to be, our goal to deliver updates to the game. Going forward, our live team is also looking to grow beyond vital updates and improvements to focus on world events, experiences, and feature requests.”
Even though these microtransactions are merely optional emotes, there are many players that absolutely lament any type of microtransactions in any game that is not free-to-play. Moreover, the Destiny critics that had their opinion changed by The Taken King may revert back to an anti- Destiny stance, as these optional emotes are potentially a slippery slope to microtransactions for weapons, armor, and other items to give players that spend real world cash an edge over the competition. Even though Bungie claims we won’t see this happen, it would be easy money, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if we saw it happen somewhere down the line.
However, if the addition of these microtransactions results in a better overall Destiny experience, then it could be a very good thing, and would even benefit players that never spend another real world dime on the game. If the company uses the money spent on Silver to fund free content, then that could help alleviate some of the compatibility issues that exist between DLC owners and Vanila players. Perhaps the extra dough might also fund development on the long-requested Raid matchmakingfeature, or other fan requests.
How do you feel about microtransactions making their way into Destiny next week?
Destiny: The Taken King is currently available for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Source: Bungie