Deej Tells Us That Activision Weren’t Prohibitive Overlords

In a candid interview during Gamescom 2019, Deej spoke with Eurogamer about a number of aspects of Destiny 2 as it is today. One thing he touched on was the relationship between Bungie and Activision.

When asked about whether features of Destiny 2 that are just about to happen, including cross-save and the free-to-play Destiny 2 New Light release, and whether they’d have been possible under Activision, he gave a surprising response. Deej said that something needs to be dispelled about the relationship between Bungie and Activision. Everybody seems to think that Activision were forcing features on Destiny 2 that Bungie weren’t able to say no to because of the support the publisher provided.

However, Deej says that this wasn’t the case at all. Apparently at some point in their relationship the pair came to a head, with each of them having different opinions on where Destiny 2 should go next, and what features should be introduced. I think we can all remember the scuffle surrounding the launch of Forsaken, with Activision saying they were unhappy with sales, and Bungie saying they were pretty pleased with them.

I think it’s at this point that the pair decided to go their separate ways, as Deej puts it. He also wanted to make it very clear that the split was amicable, and while there were definitely celebrations, which we know about because of sources within Bungie, there were no hard feelings.

I think it’s a very positive thing that Deej has set us all straight on this front, because I assumed everything was far from amicable. What I will say is that there have been less obviously money-grabbing features in Destiny 2 since the split with Activision. However, I think we can all say that this is probably partly due to Activision, a company with investors who need to see returns, and partly due to Bungie working out the best way to monetise Destiny 2.

Destiny 2 is a huge game right now, colossal in fact. It has its own conference, Guardiancon, and millions of players who log in every day just to play the same activities over and over again. I’m still working through some of the content in there, and I don’t think I’ll ever be one of the Guardians who has done everything. But for that group of Guardians, Eververse provides an opportunity to have something that they can’t earn, and really put the finishing touches to their characters.

I’m not saying that monetisation was the be all and end all of the relationship between Activision and Bungie, but I think it’s where things started to get a little sour. With Bungie launching a new IP, it was probably hard for them to put monetisation in, but on the other hand they really needed to in order to keep the game profitable with the ongoing support they were offering.

Moving forward, I think that seasons are the best way for Bungie to monetise Destiny 2, but I also don’t think Eververse is going anywhere. Those small items, such as the Micro Mini Sparrow, are amazing. But the seasons should be where a Guardian’s core expenses are, at least for now. In an industry that’s seen the likes of Fortnite rise to the top, it only makes sense that the monetisations strategies of other titles follow suit.

Let us know what you think of the amicable relationship between Bungie and Activision in the comments.