The Whisper of the Worm sniper rifle is one of Destiny 2's most iconic weapons. The gun, introduced via a secret quest as part of the Warmind expansion, offered both unique gameplay and incredible power. It was extremely popular among Destiny's most dedicated players yet a headache for Bungie. But even Bungie had to acknowledge the value that Whisper of the Worm brought to the game in more ways than one.
Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith released the first part of a "State of the Game" breakdown Tuesday afternoon. Within this massive manifesto, Smith revealed an interesting detail regarding Destiny 2's development about the microtransactions associated with the gun. The two Whisper of the Worm ornaments apparently sold so well that Bungie was able to fund the development of the Zero Hour questline.
Smith would go on to describe how the Whisper of the Worm was definitively overpowered at the time of its release. However, Bungie designed it partly in response to fan feedback and self-awareness regarding how "restrictive and power-limited" Destiny 2 felt at the time. Introducing something cool and fun like Whisper of the Worm was what Bungie wanted for Destiny 2 and it worked. And as a result, through a small microtransaction, it was able to create more cool and fun content.
What Smith is doing in his long-winded breakdown is explaining where Destiny is going based on where its come from. More literally, he's saying that Bungie wants to do more content like Whisper of the Worm and Zero Hour while also explaining that microtransactions help make that happen. He adds that microtransactions are a big part of the business because they fund creative efforts the team otherwise couldn't afford.
The entirety of Luke Smith's breakdown is worth reading, as the Whisper of the Worm story is just one bit of info shared. Smith's comments about the difficulties of developing the Destiny 2 annual pass are also revelatory, with two more manifesto parts planned for this week.
The Whisper of the Worm is just one of Destiny 2's most iconic weapons, but it's also an oddly symbolic way of explaining what Bungie's trying to do and how it's able to do that.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version currently in development
Source: Bungie