'Destiny' news: Game offers free microtransaction currency to its players

Destiny website

Bungie recently announced that "Destiny" would now be offering microtransactions using "Silver" in-game currency, although the purchasable items would only be cosmetic in nature and would not affect gameplay. In its latest weekly update, the company also promised that gamers will also get free Silver simply for playing the game.

The company stated that players will be given free Silver once update 2.0.1 has released. Gamers who continue to play the game after the update releases up to this December will be getting free Silver as well, with no other required action needed.

"If you're a player of Destiny, you'll have some Silver in your account when Eververse Trading opens their new shop," Bungie explained it its weekly update. "If you appear in the game between now and December, you'll get even more Silver. Thanks for playing."

The Eververse Trading Shop will officially launch for "Destiny" today, Oct. 13. The new shop will offer "Emotes," the game's form of in-game gestures. It is also speculated that cosmetic armor and dyes might become available as well since the company did promise they won't be selling top-tier gear for real money.

Bungie's weekly update reiterated that none of the items in the shop will be required to complete a raid or receive future updates for the game. The announcement stated that gamers can completely ignore the feature and still get the full "Destiny" experience without the need of spending any more real-world cash.

Prices for Silver have not yet been posted online although they are expected to be posted soon now that the update is ready to launch. According to a report from Gamespot, despite the usual controversy regarding microtransactions in video games, the microtransactions in "Destiny" may generate millions of dollars in profit for the company per year.

The report also points out that "Destiny" players are already making good use of the game's "Emotes" as evident in comical videos that have become viral online.