Destiny: Rising is coming as a mobile game that is part of the Destiny universe. We’ll soon be able to play it once it releases, but there’s a feeling of wonder when it comes to mobile games from big companies, thanks to predatory tactics.
It seems like players are right to be wary of Destiny: Rising and what the developers have planned. From what we see, it’s more than just a game with a single price tag; it’s got many.
Is Destiny: Rising Actually Free?
You can download and start playing Destiny: Rising for free, and that’s the big selling point. The game is designed to get you in the door with no upfront cost, and it works. But as with most free-to-play games, “free” is a bit of a stretch once you’re actually playing. While you don’t have to spend a dime, the game is set up in a way that makes it really, really hard not to.
The developers want to tempt you into spending money every chance they get, and the whole experience is built around that. The biggest way they do this is with gacha mechanics, which are basically just loot boxes. You can buy these with in-game currency, and they give you a chance to get new characters, powerful weapons, and cool cosmetic items.
It’s like a slot machine, but for your video game characters. You’re hoping for the best but often getting something you don’t want, which pushes you to try again. The free progression is designed in such games to feel incredibly slow, so if you want to speed things up, you have to open your wallet instead of preparing for raids. It’s a classic tactic to get you to spend money, and it works on a lot of people.
Is Destiny: Rising Pay To Win?
If you’ve been excited about the upcoming free-to-play title Destiny: Rising, you might want to brace yourself. It looks like the game could be leaning heavily into a pay-to-win model right out of the gate. While the game is free to download, the monetization strategy they’ve laid out has all the classic hallmarks of a game that will pressure you to spend money to get ahead.
The whole thing is built around a multi-layered monetization system. The most obvious sign is the presence of multiple subscription services. We’re not just talking about a simple Battle Pass, which is almost a given these days. Destiny: Rising will also have a “Dazzlemory Membership” and the “Tree of Light’s Blessing” on top of that. These kinds of subscriptions are designed to give paying players a tangible advantage—things like exclusive items, bonus rewards, and faster progression that free players just won’t have access to. It creates a noticeable gap between those who pay and those who don’t.
But the real core of the potential pay-to-win issue lies in the game’s gacha system. This is how you get new characters. You spend in-game currency to pull for randomized items, including characters with different playstyles and abilities. While you can earn this currency by playing, the design of these gacha games almost always slows down your free progression to a crawl to encourage you to buy more of the currency with real money instead of in-game currency from raids.
You can literally spend cash to get more chances at pulling the best characters, which directly gives you an advantage over someone who is grinding it out. It’s a classic tactic to make people feel like they need to spend money to keep up.
Beyond the gacha mechanics, there’s also a store filled with cosmetic items, weapon skins, and various item bundles that you can buy with real money. While cosmetic items don’t directly affect gameplay, the sheer number of opportunities to spend money, when combined with the subscriptions and the gacha system, paints a very clear picture. The entire design of the game seems to be built around providing convenience and advantages to players who are willing to open their wallets.
The game will be playable for free, sure, but all signs point to the fact that those who pay will have a much easier time acquiring top-tier characters and resources, making it a different experience entirely from those playing for free. I honestly can’t believe how many different ways they’ve found to ask for money. It feels like they’ve taken every monetization strategy in the book and shoved them all into one game. While we’ll have to wait for the game’s launch to see exactly how balanced everything is, the current setup for Destiny: Rising is a pretty big red flag.
