Bungie has defended charging £40 for Destiny expansion 'The Taken King' - as well as featuring exclusive items in a more expensive Collector's Edition - and announced plans to reward loyal players who have been with the game in its first year.

The expansion, which was announced at E3, is available as a £40 digital download for those who own the game and existing DLC 'The Dark Below' and 'House of Wolves', close to the £50 price point of the original game released last year.

'The Taken King' can also be purchased for £55 at retail in an edition that features all existing and new content, a difference of £15. In an interview, lead designer Luke Smith justified the £40 cost for 'The Taken King', saying the team was "really comfortable with the value".

"So, purchasers get a big, rich campaign," he told Eurogamer. "Fully voiced cinematics and the story of what happens when an angry alien god wages war on a solar system, all with a satisfying conclusion. You also have a new subclass to pursue and unlock.

"We also have a bunch of new strikes - we're not yet talking about how many - and a new raid.

"We're showing two new PVP modes and four PVP maps this week, and it's a fairly safe bet we're not done yet showing things off. So I'm fairly excited about the value proposition.

"We're calling this a major expansion because it is. We're giving people a whole new place to go, that new destination..."

He added: "We're really comfortable with the value we're giving to players this autumn. I believe that once we begin to share more, players will be even more excited."

Meanwhile, there is an £80 Collector's Edition which features unique emotes, shaders and exotic items with experience boosts. Their exclusivity means players have to buy the whole package - including last year's content a second time - if they want to access it.

"I can totally empathise with those people," Smith replied when asked why users can't buy the new content separately. "But the Collector's Edition is a pretty cool package for people who want to pursue that stuff."

When the interviewer said he would pay for the emotes separate to the £80 package if given the option, Smith replied: "If I fired up a video right now and showed you the emotes you would throw money at the screen."

Following the interview, users went to message boards to voice their frustrations. Community manager David Dague has since said existing Year 1 players "won't get the same perks" as the Collector's Edition but will "get something better", according to Forbes.

"I understand that you want me to go on record right now with something that will address the disappointment that's being expressed here," he also told Reddit.

"I'm going to differ to the Bungie Weekly Update [this Thursday], in which we'll talk more about the things we're doing to celebrate the year-one Guardians who helped us build this community.

"I'll also revisit our goals in offering different versions of 'The Taken King'. Ever heard the old adage about trying to please everyone? More on this soon."

Destiny: The Taken King will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360 from September 15, with PlayStation-exclusive content.