Quote that perfectly sums it up. (Destiny)

by cheapLEY , Thursday, September 15, 2016, 20:59 (2789 days ago) @ squidnh3

"When we made Halo games Microsoft owned the IP, but we acted like we did. When we finally owned our own IP (Destiny) we let Activision tell us what to do, like they owned it."

The difference is here that at the end of the day, Bungie has the nuclear option. They can, pending the completion of game/expansion subcontracts, simply stop making Destiny games for Activision. Right now this isn't as much of a threat, since Bungie is only 3 years into a 10 year exclusivity publishing contract, and would have to try to create a new IP to work on if they were to split from Activision. However, this option becomes much more powerful once they start getting towards 7ish years in, when contract renewal negotiations begin to develop. If Destiny is still going strong at that point, it's unlikely that Activision would want to lose it to a competitor, and Bungie would have a very strong position at the negotiating table.

Sure, but that's a long way off, with many years of Bungie needing to please Activision. And let's be clear--the fact that microtransactions are in the game at all is an indication that Bungie is completely okay with them. Otherwise they wouldn't be there, and Bungie wouldn't have agreed to a contract that lets Activision force them in (if that's what's happening). At the end of the day, this is Bungie's IP, and Bungie is in control (by nature of not having to have signed a contract they didn't like). Putting this all on Activision is a little disingenuous, in my opinion.