Is Bungie trying to regain some ground with Destiny 2 players ahead of The Final Shape?

destructoid.com:

Bungie has been uncharacteristically generous as of late. At first glance, it seems that Destiny 2 players are eating well. But Bungie’s change of pace doesn’t read like its usual exchange for goodwill — something that especially rings true when looking at the state of the studio. 

Bungie is in a historically bad spot. Following an acquisition by Sony, there’s pressure on the studio to perform. As IGN’s Rebekah Valentine previously reported, employees called the atmosphere “soul-crushing” following a round of layoffs and delay for The Final Shape, with both reportedly due to Destiny 2 missing its revenue goals by 45%. 

The studio needs The Final Shape to do exceedingly well. The only problem is Bungie has created a player retention nightmare with blows to morale and distrust. It’s hard enough to keep players engaged throughout a whole year, even under ‘normal’ circumstances. With a lengthy delay and no large-scale planned content to tide players over in between, Destiny 2’s population has had some of its worst days ever. And while the population data only accounts for PC players on Steam, reliable numbers aren’t available for other platforms.

There’s the typical, free sample approach in live service tactics, but this has never been Bungie’s style of “generosity.” Instead of the traditional content that has appeared between expansions, like the $25 Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack or the purely cosmetic Armor Synthesis feature, Destiny 2 players are now seeing more complimentary rewards and long-requested features like free weekly Bright Dust, the lucrative Riven’s Wishes questline,new pinnacle weapons, character edits, and more. Bungie knows it needs to keep fans invested, and in what seems like a mad dash for player retention, the studio is pulling out all of the stops.

In November 2023, I wrote about how Destiny 2 had received a blow that seemed impossible to recover from. The idea was that Destiny 2 is dependent on continuous engagement as a live service game. The