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Destiny 2: Starter Pack pulled from Steam following community backlash

The terribly named bundle cost $15 USD and included nothing that would be useful for a brand new player.

Sam Chandler

November 29, 2023 4:03 PM

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The release of Destiny 2: Season of the Wish ushered in a couple of exciting new things for players to dig into, but it also brought with it a lump of coal in the form of the Destiny 2: Starter Pack. The community was quick to dogpile this atrocious bundle and Bungie was even quicker in yanking it from digital storefronts.

On November 29, 2023, just one day after the release of Destiny 2: Season of the Wish, Bungie removed the Destiny 2: Starter Pack from Steam and seemingly other digital storefronts. The pack launched alongside the new season and veteran players were quick to point out a few things: the bundle was overpriced and nothing in it resembles anything that could be considered good starting items for players.

Destiny 2 players can handle paying exorbitant prices for items. While many have put their foot down, there are those who still purchase the various armor sets that arrive with the seasonal events. But what Destiny 2 players cannot abide is Bungie selling a bundle with a misleading name that is clearly targeting new players.

Any new player coming to Destiny 2 (an ordeal in and of itself) would surely look at a piece of DLC called the “Starter Pack” and think that it contained things they needed to start the game. While Sleeper Simulant is a powerhouse, there’s a cruel joke being played on newcomers with Traveler’s Chosen and Ruinous Effigy being described as “Destiny 2’s finest”.

To further sweeten the deal, this pack included 125,000 Glimmer, 50 Enhancement Cores, 5 Enhancement Prisms, and 1 Ascendant Shard. All of this for $15 USD. Not actually enough materials to upgrade a single piece of armor. As FalloutPlays points out, Shadowkeep is currently on sale for less than $7 USD and it grants players access to Ruinous Effigy, Traveler’s Chosen, the whole collection of Exotics from that year of Destiny 2, and everything else that expansion added to the game.

The Destiny 2 community team took to X, formerly Twitter, to acknowledge the Destiny 2: Starter Pack and noted that it "is not something bringing joy."

Suffice it to say, the Destiny 2: Starter Pack was not only a rip off, it was at best misnamed and at worse misleading. While it’s great to see Bungie taking swift action to pull this DLC from stores, it’s just one more misstep in a trail that has curved so far off track. Bungie has a lot of work to do in order to restore the goodwill with players, and whether that can be done before the release of The Final Shape on June 4, 2024 remains to be seen.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler