Following a week full of controversy surrounding the video game Destiny, the developers at Bungie have posted an early “weekly update” apologizing for recent screw-ups and promising to address players’ complaints.


The controversy, which was triggered by some tone-deaf comments from Destiny creative director Luke Smith in an interview earlier this week, revolved around the $80 collector’s edition of Destiny that’s slated to launch this September. Veteran players (rightly) complained that in order to get the unique stuff in this collector’s edition—which includes new shaders, emotes, and armor—they’d have to spend money to re-buy parts of the game they already own. (The collector’s edition includes vanilla Destiny and both current expansions.)

When a Eurogamer reporter probed Smith about this problem, he responded with some snarky comments that didn’t quite translate well in text.


Bungie, to their credit, was quick to react, addressing the controversy in a heartfelt blog post tonight complete with an apology from Smith (which you can read below). The short version is that now, instead of asking veteran players to buy what they’ve already bought, Bungie will sell the special collector’s edition stuff separately, for the hefty price of $20.

Here’s what you’ll get if you buy that $20 package, from the blog post: “The Taken King Collector’s Edition Digital Content consists of: (3) Class Specific Emotes, (3) Armor Shaders, and (3) Exotic Class Items with XP Bonuses.” More clarification:

For those looking for a little more context about Emotes and Class Items in The Taken King, we will be introducing new Class Items with stat attributes. These will provide players with another gear slot that can contribute to both your Guardian’s look and build preferences. The Class Items included in the Collector’s Edition are a welcome addition for players looking to level up newborn Guardians or fresh subclasses, but they are not the only new Class Items available in Destiny: The Taken King. This is part of our focus on making the game more rewarding and adding more variety options for players. The same goes for Emotes.


Veteran players—aka people who either own both expansions or hit at least level 30 in year one—will also get some VIP stuff, Bungie promised, although they didn’t say exactly what it will be. This is the teaser image:


And here’s the full apology from Smith:

I am Luke Smith, Creative Director on Destiny: The Taken King. Many, many years ago, I wrote to you each week in this spot. We talked about Battle Rifles, we talked about stuff we weren’t going to talk about, and at some point I did a horrible hand-drawing of an upcoming map and teased you with it in the Weekly Update. Anyone who knows me knows I can be sarcastic, anyone who remembers podcasts I’ve done knows that I can be pretty blunt, and anyone who’s watched me in a ViDoc knows I’m pretty unpolished. However, most of you don’t know me. Reading my interview with Eurogamer and imagining it came from some random developer of a game I love - that random developer looks like an Asshat. But that Asshat was me - and those words rightfully anger you. I’m sorry. My words made it sound as if Bungie doesn’t care about their most loyal fans. We do care. We are listening. And we will make it right.

You can reach the author of this post at jason@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @jasonschreier.