Following news that Destiny 2: Forsaken is not performing as well as Activision Blizzard had hoped, game director Luke Smith has come out in defense of the expansion. The game director has taken to Twitter to explain that the team behind Destiny 2: Forsaken is not disappointed, even though recent news suggests that the expansion’s publisher may be a little more concerned.
The reveal that Destiny 2: Forsaken is a surprising underperformer from a financial perspective may have come as a shock to some, given how much of a powerhouse the first game was when it came to sales. Nonetheless, the figures don’t lie, and although still successful - Activision Blizzard’s total revenues are still at $1.51 billion, and it’s not like Destiny 2 has been losing money - the publisher will have built its future business around estimates that have not been reached.
Off the back of this, Smith has jumped in to defend Destiny 2: Forsaken. Over on Twitter, the game director has pointed out that the development team behind the expansion “love” the game, and that building “Destiny for players who love it is and will remain our focus going forward.” The tweet in question from Smith can be seen below.
In terms of Forsaken’s content, at the very least there are some that agree with Smith and his team. The expansion did a lot to tempt players back to the grind, providing something more than the end game of the core Destiny 2 experience. That said, many were still critical of the final product, suggesting that it was overpriced for the amount of content that Destiny 2: Forsaken came with, and that there quite simply was not enough there to justify buying in to the expansion - something which is now clear from the financial figures Activision Blizzard has provided.
Exactly how this downturn is combated remains to be seen, although it seems as though Activision Blizzard is attempting to entice PC gamers into the title. After all, to celebrate the game’s anniversary, Destiny 2 is currently available for free, and will be until November 18, which could potentially get further users in to then be tempted by some of the DLC available.
Aside from that, some may be concerned about exactly how Bungie will be asked to turn fortunes. The expansion’s twist ending and aspects like Gambit mode will potentially remain a pull, but some may wonder whether there’ll be a greater emphasis on pushing microtransactions in Destiny 2 to try and generate more revenue. With the publisher talking about “stronger engagement and in-game revenue generation,” it certainly seems as though that may be an option.
