Live Service Controversy

Destiny Content Vault (announced August 2020) was Bungie’s controversial decision to remove/rotate Destiny 2 content to manage game size. Players lost access to paid expansions, sparking debates about live service ownership and consumer rights.

Rationale: 115GB+ game size; testing/maintenance burden; engine limitations

What disappeared (November 2020):

• 4 planets, 7 raids, dozens of strikes
• Year 1-2 campaigns players paid for
• Exotic quests, weapons

Backlash: “I paid for content now deleted”; digital ownership concerns

Bungie defense: Free-to-play model shift; technical necessity; content returns rotated

Precedent: Normalized removing paid content in live service games

Class action potential: Legal questions about selling then removing content

The DCV represents live service gaming’s dark side - publisher control over access to paid content.

Sources:
https://www.bungie.net/en/News/Article/49189
https://www.pcgamer.com/