Alright, let's put this into perspective for everyone. This isn't exactly an mmo, but it operates similar to one, having shared servers and the like. There are weekly/monthly updates for us to keep us occupied over time instead of all at once. Let's face it: this game was f*cking expensive to make and keep running, being always online and all, and giving us all that they have planned at once would probably cost upwards of $500 and require multiple disks (given that all that they have planned hadn't even been fleshed out yet) Most games like this, such as Runescape, WoW, and (insert variety of applicable mmorpgs here) pay for these expansions and the servers, as well as profits, in one or a combination of 3 ways: 1. Payed subscriptions. 2. Micro transactions(and/or pay to win). 3. Moderate to heavy advertising(varies). Now that you know the 3 basic business models for mmorpgs, let's think for a minute: none of these can be used very successfully on a game like destiny, a console game. Normally, mmo's are a pc thing, and even a game similar to one is pretty uncommon, if not unheard of, for consoles. Not only that, but they had to develop for 4 different consoles, instead of just pc's. Anyway, back to the point: subscriptions are heavily looked down upon for console games (just remember the backlash in trying to get subscription fees for the elder scrolls online). Micro transactions are usually used as a last ditch effort to gain funds(in Runescape's case) and are usually looked down upon by gamers (especially pay to win models). Lastly, advertisements in a console game would clearly suffer extreme backlash/protests, and would obviously fail on a console. Being console gamers, we expect to buy a new game for $60 (U.S.) any deviation from this price for playstation and xbox is also unheard of/extremely rare. So what are they to do? Well, the dlc market nowadays is huge in games like call of duty, so why not adopt a strategy similar to subscriptions, but in the form of a more acceptable version(dlc packs)? This allows more freedom for players, and also supplies destiny/Activision with the needed funds and profits. Likewise, it also supports their plans for the game to keep expanding. Destiny is not only a new type of console game, with a new/modified business plan to boot- a different and more acceptable form of subscription based playing for consoles. You pay the upfront cost for a disk every 2 or 3 years (4 games planned via contract with Activision atm), the game continues to expand throughout the years in disk and dlc form, and you, the happy customer, get to play destiny in all of its glory.