Analysts Suggest Destiny 2 Backlash will Cost Bungie Big

Typically, I don’t report on the words of analysts, since I prefer to show the news as it is and let you draw your own conclusions after I forcefeed you my own. But I’m also a sucker for picking on companies who don’t get nearly as much flack as they deserve (looking at you, Blizzard), and high on that list is Destiny 2, a game that fans quickly fell in love with and then out of love with when Activision and Bungie decided to bare its greedy, blood-sucking teeth.

I bring this up because the Cowen Group, a Wall Street Firm, recently spoke to CNBC about Destiny 2 and how their recent shenanigans—specifically regarding the lackluster communication and intrusive microtransactions—will very likely hurt the company the one way they cannot stand: in the wallet.

Specifically, the company points to three big problems that Destiny 2 has:

1. "Design decisions were made that have made D2 a less engaging, and less distinctive, game than D1. In particular, key aspects of the D2 end game feel neutered compared to D1."
2. "Microtransaction implementation, while not nearly as problematic as in Star Wars Battlefront 2, has still been a source of player unhappiness."
3. "Bungie's [the studio that developed the game] apparent urgency in responding to player feedback has been disappointing."
4. "Until recently, Bungie did a poor job communicating its road map going forward, particularly compared to the more open stance of many other live service games."

They point to the above reasons as to why Destiny 2’s Twitch streams are so low, and why Bungie will likely lose revenue in 2018—particularly when compared to CoD: WW2. That said, they also pointed out that the first Destiny was also disappointing at first, but Bungee was able to fix it over time, and the same could happen here.

Which is true. But Destiny 1 didn’t make all the mistakes its sequel has, and when you combine average gameplay with lies and deception, I’m not sure that’s as easy to come back from.

But hey, what do I know?