Here's how Destiny's microtransactions went from emotes to gameplay-affecting loot boxes

Once upon a time, Destiny did not have microtransactions. Even when they arrived, they came not as loot boxes, but emotes you could purchase directly. How did we get from there to here, when leading YouTubers fantasise about the in-game death of real-money vendor Tess Everice - nicknamed Avarice - and the permanent shuttering of her wretched shop? Here is the history of Destiny's increasingly intrusive microtransactions.

Here's how Bungie made recent Destiny 2 controversies worse than they needed to be.

October 2015: Emotes bought directly

After a year of its development being funded solely through the initial purchase and DLC, microtransactions came to Destiny on October 13, 2015. Tess Everis - who merely dispensed promotional items when the game launched - returned to the Tower with a new store: Eververse.

from
https://www.pcgamesn.com/destiny-2/destiny-2-eververse-microtransactions-bright-engrams