Destiny 2 Removes Outrageous $15 Starter Pack After Backlash

Bungie has pulled Destiny 2’s starter pack from the Steam store after player backlash. Season of the Wish launched on November 28 and soon after that, the $15 USD starter pack was removed due to multiple possible reasons with players mentioning “pay-to-win elements” and also the fact that the Exotic weapons are old, and can be earned by playing normally. Comments from players roasted this pack, saying that these would be “login rewards in any other MMO.”

The page is still ‘live’ on Steam but shows a notice that Destiny 2: Starter Pack is no longer available on the Steam store.

Source: Bungie/Destiny 2

The official description reads:

[bs-quote quote=”Includes a supercharged arsenal for Guardians to begin their adventure. Experience the power of build-defining Exotic weapons by instantly unlocking three of Destiny 2’s finest: Traveler’s Chosen, Ruinous Effigy, and Sleeper Simulant.

Fly between destinations in your new Exotic ship, race across alien planets in your Exotic Sparrow, and show your Ghost some love by equipping them with a state-of-the-art Exotic Ghost Shell.

And don’t hesitate to upgrade your favorite gear with the included 125,000 Glimmer, 50 Enhancement Cores, 5 Enhancement Prisms, and 1 coveted Ascendant Shard.

To unlock your new items, visit the Special Deliveries Terminal in the Tower.” style=”default” align=”center” color=”” author_name=”” author_job=”” author_avatar=”” author_link=””][/bs-quote]

The backlash continued, with Reddit comments saying that “Bungie really wants that 45% back” (45% being the reduced revenue projections this year). Other players expressed that “this is more expensive than a season pass”, called it a “ripoff”, “a Bungie cashgrab bait” and called out the issues of the devs “outright selling materials for real-world money.”

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Steam Reviews urged new players to not buy this, calling Bungie “tone deaf” – here’s a snippet of a review from user xKaliBuR:

[bs-quote quote=”Everything in this pack can be acquired and (at the time of this review the Forsaken Pack is on sale for $6) The Forsaken pack is a much better deal than this. The materials in this pack can be attained in 1-2 runs of a nightfall. Guardians like me will help you for FREE. Sorry I Love Destiny and want it to succeed but it’s a big shame that stuff like this is allowed to happen. It’s been a bad year in the industry and Bungie is not helping… They can do better.” style=”default” align=”center” color=”” author_name=”” author_job=”” author_avatar=”” author_link=””][/bs-quote]

Source: Steam

Aside from downvotes for the Destiny 2: Starter Pack, the overall reviews (22) are Mixed.

Bungie’s Response for the Starter Pack after Backlash

Social media backlash from the player base had an actual impact because the devs pulled the pack from the store with these messages posted on Twitter:

We’ve heard your concerns and agreed that there are other parts of Destiny 2 that new players should want to dive into first before chasing these Exotic weapons, cosmetics, and upgrade materials.

— Destiny 2 Team (@Destiny2Team) November 29, 2023

Youtuber Datto talked about the price tag of the pack. Adding to it, he said, “I don’t even care that Bungie is literally selling old exotics to new players. These are not exotics that have a giant impact on the metagame right now and even if something like Sleeper Sim does have its time in the sun every now and then, the thing is years old already, and at this point, give the new player the damn weapon, I don’t care.” He continues that the game needs new blood to sustain itself and this is fine, but “a starter pack like this would be amazing for brand new players if it was free.”

Check out his opinion right here: