Bungie has recently revealed that Destiny is currently tallying 3.2 million players daily on average.
Destiny was officially released around a month ago, and since that time people have logged in 20.9 times on average. Players also spend three hours playing the game, even on weekdays, with roughly two sessions every day. Bungie asserts that Destiny’s first three weeks have performed better than Halo 3 and Halo Reach combined.
During the beta last July, Destiny was able to amass 4.6 million players within the period of a week. Since then, the numbers have clearly increased, with $ 500 million in sales. Bungie and Activision are no doubt satisfied with the business side of the game, and the continued engagement by fans.
However, the fans themselves have expressed disappointment with the Iron Banner, and Bungie has attempted to explain this, perhaps in an unsatisfactory manner.
Iron Banner, and the Crucible in general, was meant to provide a fun competitive experience for all players. Iron Banner was intended to find good core players, but the selection is based on actual skill, not character level.
Power acquired from weapons and gear is a factor in the Crucible, but to keep it from turning into a ghost town only for elites, that power is scaled down, with the most powerful players nerfed from going into overkill.
Powerful weapons and gear still help you, by reducing damage received from lower level players and nerfing the advantage higher level players have on you. Overall, the experience is actually balanced out so everyone, regardless of skill, has a fighting chance.
Bungie’s explanation only serves to highlight the gap between what fans expected and the reality of the experience. How do you feel about Bungie’s communication? What should they have done differently to set player expectations correctly? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.