The news that Sony bought Bungie for over 3 billion dollars came as a sudden shock to a lot of people. While major deals like this can sometimes be anticipated, Sony’s acquisition seems to have happened as quietly as possible despite Bungie hosting major events in the past few months and consistently maintaining an open line of communication with its community. Given the surprise, many fans are still processing how they feel about Sony buying Bungie but with the developer now a part of the greater Sony Interactive Entertainment umbrella there’s a lot that it can do with more cash backing it, and Bungie also has some enticing perks to offer Sony and PlayStation in particular.
In the past, the presence of Destiny 2 and all of its expansions on Xbox Game Pass meant subscribers had access to pretty much everything Destiny 2 had to offer for no additional charge. Given how important expansions are to Destiny 2, a lot of players were able to get a fairly nice deal on Xbox systems if they were subscribed to Xbox Game Pass. While Destiny 2’s expansions are part of the games that have been removed from Xbox Game Pass on console, PC players still have access to them, and it’s a great perk for those that want to save money and have access to a variety of games. The Game Pass model can be great, and there have been rumors that PlayStation is considering something similar.
Destiny 2 as Part of Project Spartacus
The rumored Project Spartacus has a lot of potential. Some of the best games in the past few years are first-party games from PlayStation, and there’s a lot more that it could offer. While day-one releases on Project Spartacus don’t sound like something that is going to happen, there’s potential to integrate a title like Destiny 2 into the program. Doing so could make Destiny 2 the cornerstone of Project Spartacus and be a major draw to the service depending on how it’s implemented.
The biggest thing that would need to be considered is exactly what content the rumored Project Spartacus would want to include from Destiny 2. Ideally, it would provide subscribers with access to all previously released expansions but Destiny 2’s status as a live service game means there’s a lot more to think about. To help Project Spartacus get its footing, and not be shunned as a lesser version of Xbox Game Pass, it would also be important that Destiny 2 players that are subscribed would receive day-one access to all new content, even big buys like the Witch Queen expansion.
This would be a major move that goes against some of the predictions that people have for the rumored program but it would be a solid step in the right direction. Right now, some view Project Spartacus as good but not good enough when compared to Xbox Game Pass, which given its unreleased status may be hard to gauge. Surpassing expectations at launch, however, wouldn’t hurt the program and if a PlayStation-focused game pass service is going to be implemented it should take full advantage of the tools at its disposal. With the acquisition of Bungie, Sony has turned Destiny 2 into a great tool for PlayStation to use.
Rather than Destiny 2 being an afterthought or addition to the service, it should be one of its key features at launch. Guaranteeing users access to all playable Destiny 2 content as it's released would be a major move and for fans on multiple systems it could also encourage them to, at the very least, check out Project Spartacus rather than sticking to just Xbox Game Pass if they have it. From a marketing perspective, there’s also the opportunity for the program to include some of its own perks given that the Sony acquisition could mean a lot of growth for Destiny 2.
Exclusive Destiny 2 Content on PlayStation
Exclusive PlayStation content wouldn’t be anything new for the Destiny series as there have been multiple strikes in the past that were exclusives for a limited time but this idea could be expanded on to include specific items. Fans probably aren’t too keen on the idea of weapons or armor becoming exclusive but tying Destiny 2 to Project Spartacus could provide an avenue for exclusive cosmetics instead. Weapon and armor ornaments in Destiny 2 are a great way to personalize the player’s Guardian and offering up a little extra for subscribers could make the rumored Project Spartacus even more of a draw.
This approach could also provide a solid middle-ground for developing exclusive content that doesn’t alienate other players too much. It wouldn’t limit players’ access to playable content, but it would be an incentive for adopting the service and be an added reward to anyone that subscribes to it after launch. This model would still have some downsides given that Destiny 2 will stay multi-platform and those not on PlayStation wouldn’t be able to get these items, but since they’re not pieces of significant content the overall negative impact could be mitigated.
At the same time, it also provides a great avenue for Destiny 2 to consider another route. With its inclusion under the Sony umbrella, cross-platform buys should be considered in the future, at least for Destiny 2 players who move between PlayStation and PC. This could be tied into Project Spartacus and while it wouldn’t be the most popular for some, others could find it incredibly useful. Cross-play is already available in Destiny 2 as well as cross-save but expansions themselves are only available where they are purchased. This limits many players to a specific device even if they like playing from a console or computer at different times.
Using Project Spartacus to fill this niche gap and give users access to all of their Destiny 2 content on PC and PlayStation would be significant for players on Sony consoles, and would continue to add to the incentive provided by a PlayStation game pass service. It might bring some exclusivity to the title but wouldn't completely break Bungie's commitment to multiplatform games either. When combined with other perks and benefits on top of this Destiny 2 could become a great way to secure the early success of a PlayStation service that rivals Xbox Game Pass. In the future this could also tie into other content but starting with what Bungie can already provide through Destiny 2 wouldn’t be a bad way for something like the rumored Project Spartacus to launch.