Eververse

Eververse, Destiny 2‘s in-game micro-transaction system, is part of a polarizing topic of discussion. There don’t seem to be any right answers for micro-transaction systems, rather more of what works best for each game that features it. In my article last week I claimed that if Bungie didn’t charge for the annual pass, they could be in a position to make even more money, and the Eververse is an integral part of the plot. Allow me to explain.

To understand this idea a bit better, we have to look at a couple real-world examples. In Fortnite, your typical character skin costs about $20. This sounds like a lot of money for a cosmetic item, but people will still gladly pay for it. Destiny 2 just introduced direct purchase options, but it hasn’t been well-received.

Last month, Bungie released an exclusive exotic emote. This month, it was a weapon skin for Fighting Lion, and an exotic grenade launcher. These items cost $10 a piece, are available for one week each, and don’t rely on random loot boxes. It all seems relatively reasonable.

Eververse in Destiny 2. Direct purchase options only available from secondary currency which involves dismantling loot box items.

This system of direct purchase for cosmetics was originally utilized in Destiny 1. This is when micro-transactions were first introduced through the in-game shop, known as The Eververse Trading Company. You could purchase a rare emote for the equivalent of $2, and a legendary emote for $5. As a natural progression, $10 for an exotic emote sounds about right, from a price structure standpoint.

Direct purchase options were left behind in Destiny 2, making your acquisition of cosmetics rely on randomized loot boxes. This is one of the current points of contention with the present Eververse model. Now when that model is slowly being reintroduced, many are livid about the fact that these items are only available for money and can’t be earned by playing the game.

Some of the frustration comes from mixed messaging on Bungie’s behalf. They have recently begun providing players new paths to earn some of the more higher-end cosmetics by completing certain objectives. When an item becomes available that can’t be earned by playing the game, people got upset. However, the issue goes much deeper than that.

Opposite Ends of a Spectrum

Fortnite is a free game. For those who play it regularly, there’s a very high perceived value. Many can attest to paying $60 for a full game and not getting the same amount of entertainment as they get from Fortnite; a game that is completely free to play. As a result, many are more than happy to spend a little money on cosmetic items here and there because they feel like they “owe” Epic, Fortnite‘s publisher, something for their great experience. Even at $20, the price of a typical character skin, Fortnite is still a bargain for what you get in return.

Destiny 1‘s Eververse featuring direct purchase items.

The same can’t be said about Destiny 2. People feel burned. Most players feel like Bungie owes them more for the money that they’ve already spent on the game. The Deluxe edition of Destiny 2 cost $90 at launch. I’ve spent only $20 on Destiny 2’s micro-transactions, and even then I felt dirty. Also shame, for giving them more of my money, and I don’t want to feel like this!

Bungie is great, and they make some of the most polished games out there. I’ve grown to know and care for the developers of this game over the past few years, and want them to succeed. So why do I feel this way? Why am I okay with spending $25 on a Chipotle delivery, but can’t bring myself to buy Destiny’s in-game currency?

The Value of Value

It is absolutely because of a poor perceived value. Players will not pay more money until they feel like they’ve gotten a return on their initial investment. The same sentiment carries over to paying for Forsaken and the Annual Pass. The base game and the annual major expansion should cost money. It makes sense to charge $60 for the base game and $40 for the major expansion. That’s fine. However, the DLC passes should be free. If players have a lower initial investment, they’re more likely to perceive a higher value towards the game. Then those reluctant might just pony up some money for special items here and there.

There is the other issue of dividing the community. In my latest GameByte episode, I outlined how Ubisoft/Massive’s The Division 2 is presenting their first year’s post-release content for free. They expressed this very concern when describing their reasoning.

If I have the DLC and my buddy doesn’t, I can’t play the new stuff with him. That is ultimately lame. It dampens the experience for both parties.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, set in Washington D.C.

The Solution

If the post-release content was free of charge, it would change everything. Players would always stay together. The content drops would be celebrated, and players would have a better experience due to the interpreted value.

A happier player-base would then be much more likely to spend that $30 on micro-transactions, to get even more enjoyment out of their experience. As someone who has spent over $200 on loot boxes in Overwatch, I can attest that there will be those outliers that help Bungie not only make up the money, but potentially make significantly more.

Now unfortunately, the annual pass will cost money, and that won’t change. However, it’s up to Bungie to seriously bring it from a content standpoint, and to clarify their messaging in regards to Eververse. They need to quickly reach an internal confidence in what they’re doing, because it’s clear that they don’t have it right now. If they can manage to make players happy this fall, I think we’ll see the narrative start to change in a big way. Destiny might finally become greater than the sum of its parts.

Liked it? Take a second to support Nerd On! on Patreon.