Bungie today revealed its new Bungie Rewards program, an initiative which gifts you content and goods for completing specific tasks in Destiny 2. The program actually sounds like a great idea for both players and Bungie: players can net some extra stuff and the developer incentivizes more users to not only keep playing but to do targeted tasks, thus upping engagement and data collection. The rewards system is linked to your Bungie.net account and apparently only works with the new Forsaken expansion so base Destiny 2 may not be eligible for specific tasks. At least the first reward is Forsaken-exclusive: you can unlock a free copy of the expansion's soundtrack when you beat the storyline. Taking a look at this from a business perspective we see that Bungie Rewards is a direct result of Activision's huge push for engagement. Destiny 2 in of itself is a live game driven strongly by engagement, which is basically defined as the constant quest to keep users playing, grinding, and eventually paying for more content. Activision is the king of this business model and makes billions a year from microtransactions, DLC, and additive post-launch content. In 2017, Activision-Blizzard made $4.9 billion from in-game purchases, or about 69% of total net revenues for the entire year. Destiny 2 currently has an optional microtransaction storefront called the Eververse, which allows users to buy cosmetic items including weapon skins and armor shaders. One of the best ways to keep gamers hooked is a rewards system that offers in-game items or account-linked stuff for doing specific tasks, not unlike Microsoft Rewards or Xbox Quest. (Continued below) Destiny 2's latest Forsaken expansion is now live on all platforms, and requires the base game and both expansions to play. Check below for more info on Bungie Rewards:<doc-sep>Finish the campaign It's been several years since the Destiny franchise launched, and now Bungie is attempting something new with their proprietary Bungie account system. In short, all players can opt-in to a reward system of sorts, which kicks off with the Forsaken expansion this week. It's aptly called "Bungie Rewards," and the first step is verifying your email: then you need to finish the Destiny 2: Forsaken campaign before the end of September. After that point you'll get the Forsaken OST delivered to you, which consists of nearly two hours of music and two bonus tracks that are exclusive to the promotion. Bungie promises (ha, a phrase that's been used quite often) to roll out more rewards that are "unique crafted to commemorate various tiers of in-game accomplishments." For what it's worth they've already ran a yearly "Triumph" rewards program where players can earn in-game emblems and a commemorative t-shirt since the original Destiny's first year. Though I have to say, this early promotion is a clever way to get people to buy in early instead of waiting for the eventual Game of the Year edition. Bungie Rewards [Bungie.net]<doc-sep>Destiny 2: Forsaken isn't the only thing that Bungie rolled out the door today. The studio also unveiled a new program called Bungie Rewards that enables players to earn exclusive items for accomplishing specific in-game tasks. First up is an easy one: Sign up for the program and finish the Forsaken campaign by the end of September, and you'll get the 110-minute Destiny 2: Forsaken Original Soundtrack, which includes two bonus tracks from Whisper of the Worm quest that aren't available anywhere else. If you don't want to horse around with the campaign, you can also purchase it outright for, let's see... $777,777.77. (And yes, that's eight 7s. I don't think you're actually supposed to buy it.) Future offers will requiring acquiring specific items or ranks, or completing a variety of different Triumphs. The second item on the list, after the soundtrack, requires that you pick up Ace of Spades, which should be easy enough since the original owner isn't using it anymore. "As the Season of the Outlaw rolls on, Bungie Rewards will offer additional collector’s items to earn, acquire and unlock that are uniquely crafted to commemorate various tiers of in game accomplishments," Bungie said. To sign up for Bungie Rewards, go here and log in with your Battle.net account.<doc-sep>You can now start earning Destiny-themed items by signing up to Bungie Rewards, the developer's fresh loyalty programme. The first reward on offer is a 110-minute Destiny 2: Forsaken digital soundtrack, which also includes two tracks from the recent Whisper of the Worm questline. To claim the download for free, you'll need to sign up and verify your email, then simply complete Forsaken's campaign before the end of September. Future rewards require the completion of other in-game activities, such as acquiring Cayde-6's Ace of Spades hand cannon, and completing various Triumphs in the game. Exactly what you'll get for these remains to be seen, but you can start working towards the unlock requirements now. Triumphs are in-game achievements which Destiny 1 had during its later years, but are now trackable within Destiny 2's menus. There are various collections of these to complete, centred around collecting lore or exploring specific destinations. You'll want to tick these off to unlock the various future Bungie Rewards. One Triumph which many fans cannot unlock, however, is the one Bungie has included for simply owning Destiny 2's limited edition. There's another Triumph award for earning a shirt from the recent Solstice of Heroes event, as well, plus hard to get awards for beating a Bungie developer in a competitive match. It's the limited edition Triumph award, though, which has riled fans up - even though there's no specific in-game reward attached for having that Triumph unlocked. Even some fans with the limited edition are upset - because the award has not properly unlocked for them. "I thought Triumphs were supposed to show your achievements in the series. Buying a more expensive version of that game doesn't seem like an achievement to me," one reddit user wrote in an extensive thread on the subject. Still, free soundtrack!<doc-sep>
Bungie has announced a new rewards program built around Destiny 2: Forsaken. Called Bungie Rewards, enlisting in the program allows you to earn Destiny 2 collector's items by completing limited time in-game challenges. You can become a part of Bungie Rewards and start working your way towards completing the first challenge right now. According to Bungie's website, signing up is a simple two step process. Go to the Bungie Rewards' page and then verify your PSN, Xbox Live, or Battle.net account via your email. The first challenge ends in about a month, so if you want to participate, you should sign-up for Bungie Rewards sooner rather than later. To earn the first reward, you'll have to complete the entire Destiny 2: Forsaken campaign by September 30. Doing so nets you a digital copy of Forsaken's soundtrack, which also includes two bonus tracks from the Whisper of the Worm quest. You can buy the digital soundtrack from the Bungie Store for $10, but the two bonus tracks are only available via this Bungie Rewards challenge. Forsaken kicks off Destiny 2's Season of the Outlaw. Bungie Rewards will offer more limited-time exclusive items throughout the season for completing different in-game challenges. Though additional rewards haven't been listed yet, Bungie has outlined what the next year of Destiny 2's DLC looks like. Destiny 2 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. We gave the game an 8/10 in our review. The Forsaken expansion is live on all platforms, and we've created a few guides to help you get through the opening hours--including how to activate the Heroic version of the Tangled Shore's Public Event and what new Exotic weapons and armor have been added to the game.