The end of the four-year partnership has a silver lining

Bungie has confirmed in its "This Week in Destiny" newsletter on February 1 that it is finally ending its four-year partnership with Prime Gaming. Since January 2020, Bungie has released a monthly pack that includes free shaders, sparrows, emotes, and other cosmetics that Amazon Prime members can redeem for free. The 49th and final Prime Gaming exotic pack will include a time-exclusive shader and will be available through March 7th, so be sure to log in and claim your rewards before they're gone forever.

While it's unfortunate that Bungie is shutting down this loot faucet, players will still get some benefits. Starting March 5th, players can log in and head over to the Eververse store to claim a free pack of 700 free Light Dust every week until the launch of the next Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, on June 4th. free in-game currency, players can also pick up a free bundle of Mass Effect-themed cosmetics promoting Bungie's latest studio collaboration with Bioware. The pack includes the Enhanced Defense Ghost Shell, Alliance Drop Ship Sparrow, and Alliance Scout Frigate Ship, which is available to all players at no cost. Bungie hasn't specified how long this perk will last, so you'll want to log in ASAP if you're after free cosmetics.

Personally, I'm not one to turn down freebies, especially in a game with such an extensive catalog of microtransactions. However, it's impossible to ignore that Destiny 2 has struggled to maintain its dwindling player base. While a daily Steam player count of 45,000 is nothing to scoff at when you consider that Destiny 2 boasted roughly three times that number a year ago, it's hard not to see these free incentives as a way to stop the bleeding.