Only those who were a part of the design discussions and decision making within Bungie really know the answer. The view that Bungie has "cut" content to create the DLC is only one angle. Another angle is that they may have decided from the beginning that they wanted DLC content available and scoped out size requirements for that DLC. Bungie has always delivered DLC with their Halo games (though always geared towards multiplayer). To deliver a fully developed and quality set of DLC shortly after the game's release, it would have to ship with the game - there would not be enough time to test and fix issues with approximately 10 missions, 4 strikes, and 2 raids in just a few months, especially if you hit some major issues that would risk missing your release date. From a distribution perspective it would be preferred to deliver it with the disc for an easier/better end user experience. My experience with destiny is that it delivers $60 worth of gameplay content. That may not be the case for story though. I'd like to think that Destiny was a well written story split up across multiple titles. Based on the above links and rumors, if true, drastic changes in story can explain the disconnect. Sounds like the changes may have been influenced by Activision, marketing, and/or politics. While I'm not disappointed in the story (I don't expect much with FPS games), I can't say that it is winning me over like Halo did. I'm not of the mind that Bungie owes me anything, except from a service perspective: to make the game playable (i.e. few game bugs and server availability). That said, as story is the key issue many people have, my view is that Bungie needs to deliver a full and well thought out storyline (even if it is a side story) with the DLC. This will restore faith in Bungie's storytelling in some, and as a result will help boost sales with Destiny 2. A long drawn out story always has shorter storylines - that's how soap operas have survived for years!