I wonder if D2’s playtime and revenue from add-ons increased over D1 or they decreased.

Supposedly they went up, but the only article I can find that says it doesn't show what they're comparing. This is important, since you can use stats to say anything.

Like, vanilla Destiny alienated a lot of people, so I wouldn't be shocked if a more accessible game had more players and time played than one where people were less interested in playing.

Likewise, Destiny 2 benefited from being a proven series and likely got a lot of sales and DLC buyers by all the times we had with Destiny 1. What will be interesting is how this plays out when the next big thing releases. Bungie can keep playing this game, but I think their moves here has the hardcore community being a lot more cautious.

I kinda hope they’re making less money on D2 because I’d LOVE to see a D3 that goes back to the roots of the game and makes it more intricate and involved, not simpler and more “casual”.

Please no. Some of the simpler and casual elements are nice and the series was honestly best around TTK. Towards the end legendaries and exotics were less exciting because of how common they were and things got out of hand.

There needs to be more, but not so much so that it becoming a defining factor itself. I could explain this in length, but there needs to be a balance between RNG and time investments.