Bungie has officially confirmed that two new Destiny 2 dungeons that are planned to be released in 2022 will not be included in the Season Pass or even the Standard Edition of the upcoming expansion, The Witch Queen. Instead, Bungie states that you will either need to purchase the Digital Deluxe Edition of The Witch Queen or purchase the dungeons separately later.
Bungie actually announced this back in August when they first revealed The Witch Queen expansion. The inclusion of two new dungeons was listed for the Deluxe Edition and was listed separately from being included with the year's season passes. However, many users were still confused about this, which ended up causing a bit of a debate on Reddit.
Clarification came from Destiny 2 community manager Cozmo23 in a massively downvoted Reddit comment.
Hey everyone. We’ve seen some debate around the new dungeon content and wanted to clarify how it will be delivered next year.
If you get the Digital Deluxe Edition of The Witch Queen you will receive the expansion, all four Seasons for the next year, and the two Dungeons. If you get the Standard Edition, you can still upgrade to the Deluxe Edition to get the dungeons later. We will also be offering a separate way for you to purchase the Dungeons in the future, but they will not be included in the Season passes.
We will share more info on this closer to when this content is set to go live.
If you get the Digital Deluxe Edition of The Witch Queen you will receive the expansion, all four Seasons for the next year, and the two Dungeons. If you get the Standard Edition, you can still upgrade to the Deluxe Edition to get the dungeons later. We will also be offering a separate way for you to purchase the Dungeons in the future, but they will not be included in the Season passes.
We will share more info on this closer to when this content is set to go live.
The dungeons are generally fun and challenging pieces of content. They often include various puzzles, platforming, and challenging combat that can be seen as a sort of mini-raid built for three people instead of a raid's typical six. The mechanics in dungeons aren't quite as complex as raids but still offer a decent challenge. The dungeons also typically offer unique rewards that are often a little step up in terms of normal gear.
Bungie seems to have already tested the waters with this idea to charge extra for Destiny 2 dungeons. The upcoming $25 (USD) "Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack" is set to arrive this December and will include a new dungeon, the Gjallarhorn exotic rocket launcher, new weapons, armor, and more.
This certainly isn't the first time that Bungie has drawn the ire of Destiny fans. The abundance of microtransactions through the in-game Eververse Store has been a point of contention with fans for years now. It was initially believed by the fanbase that it was Activision, Destiny's former publisher, that was pushing for these but as time goes on that idea seems less and less true.
Then there is also the Destiny Content Vault that has actually removed massive chunks of content from the game. This means that content you bought in the past may not be accessible after a period of time. For instance, on February 22, 2022, Bungie will add the entirety of the Forsaken campaign to the vault along with the Tangled Shore location to make room for The Witch Queen expansion releasing at the same time. Bungie previously said that the idea behind the Content Vault is to ensure that the game doesn't get too bloated over time and to facilitate the speed in which updates and fixes are released.
