If you’re not following the latest “raging riot” in the online gaming world, here’s a recap. In Destiny 1, shaders (color swatches to apply to your character’s gear) were an item you unlocked and had access to swap between any time. This changed in Destiny 2, and the items are now single use (ie – consumable). People are flipping out, thinking it’s in poor taste to monetize them for extra money down the line. Well, those fears can be mostly put to bed as Destiny 2 Game Director Luke Smith took to Twitter to address the folks holding pitchforks. It seems, that in Destiny 2 shaders will be much more prevalent as a form of end-game reward than something you’re supposed to collect and unlock.
Still, it remains to be seen what exactly this all means for the future of monetization in Destiny 2. It definitely seems like the right kind of way to monetize a massive online game. Cosmetics are ideal ways to spend money in an MMO without buying an advantage over others. Still, this kind of thing is part and parcel for a lot of MMORPG fans for the past decade. I suppose console gamers, and shooter fans specifically, might not be used to it. But then, I guess they’re not playing CS:GO.
In the meantime, read our first impressions here.
Shaders are earned through gameplay: leveling, chests, engrams, vendors. We expect you’ll be flush w/ Shaders as you continue to play. (1/4)
— Luke Smith (@thislukesmith) September 7, 2017
