Destiny: Bungie to focus on special events in 2016 with no plans to release expansion packs

Bungie has revealed that popular online shooter Destiny will follow an "events-based model" in 2016 with no expansion packs planned for release. It is widely believed that this is because Destiny 2 will be released at the tail end of the year.

Destiny: The Taken King was the last expansion pack, released in September one year after the game's initial launch. It was a sizeable expansion that was also released as part of a Legendary Edition including all previous expansion packs so new players can get up to date.

"With The Taken King we are moving to a more event-based model," said Bungie senior designer Derek Carroll in an interview with Eurogamer. "Things like Festival of the Lost and Sparrow racing, which is our winter event, and then smaller events such as Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris every weekend. Rather than doing these giant, monolithic DLC packs, this way everybody who's an owner of Taken King can enjoy these things."

Destiny's Sparrow Racing League was announced at Sony's PlayStation Experience press conference, and starts today (8 December). Festival of the Lost meanwhile is an ongoing festive event introducing new items and a new map during the Christmas period.

When asked why this change of approach has been made, Carroll offered little reason, saying: "There's lots of different reasons as to why - I don't know how deep I can get into that. But basically the live team is charged with maintaining the game and keeping players happy, feeding them new content and surprising them with things they didn't expect."

Earlier this year Bungie introduced microtransactions to Destiny, and have so far kept them from impacting the game's finely-tuned balance and gameplay. These microtransactions are also part these new modes, but not in a way that will hinder the enjoyment of players who don't stump up any cash.

"It's very similar to Festival of the Lost," said Carroll. "You don't need to buy anything to enjoy Sparrow racing, but if you want an additional challenge you can get the Record Book which includes lots of different challenges, keeps track of your stats, and gives you very targeted gear - like bounties, but you know exactly what you'll get when you complete challenges.

"All the stuff from [microtransaction shop] Eververse is completely cosmetic, to get aesthetically-pleasing things. All the items have no Light and no perks, but if you want your suit to match your Sparrow - that's what that's for."

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