Destiny: The Taken King exclusive quest requires you to buy Red Bull

Damn, Bungie/Activision, you just don't learn. With all the heat the developer and publisher are taking for the ridiculous price of Destiny's The Taken King expansion, you'd think they'd lay low for a while when it comes to yet another promotion that asks players to pay extra for in-game content.

Nope. Announced today, Activision and Bungie have partnered with Red Bull for a new promotion that'll bring players a new quest in Destiny, but only if you buy specially-marked cans of Red Bull Energy Drink.

According to the press release, access to the quest will only be available on specially-marked cans of Red Bull and will "leverage themes of speed, tenacity and strategy inspired by the energy drink." Additionally, each Red Bull can will include a one-time consumable that grants 50% bonus XP for 30 minutes. Although multiple codes can be redeemed for the bonus XP, only one can be used at a time.

It looks like the promotion will begin this summer, with players able to use the bonus XP starting July 1st. The in-game quest, however, won't become available until after The Taken King releases on September 1st.

"This epic, new quest is a never-before-seen, multi-stage mission in The Taken King that will test the speed and strategic abilities of Destiny players in new ways," the quest description teases.

"This partnership brings two brands synonymous with adventure together to offer Destiny players a unique opportunity to further advance their Guardians in the Destiny universe," said Tim Ellis, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Activision. "Whether a player is new to Destiny or with us since launch, the special quest promotion will help give them the 'wings' and experience boost to take on The Taken King."

Reading the fine print over on the Red Bull Quest website, it looks like the special quest will require the special code as well as a copy of The Taken King. On the bright side, the fine print also suggests that after January 1, 2016, the quest will become available to all players who own The Taken King regardless if they have a code — so it looks like this promotion is more for timed exclusive access.

Promotions like this aren't new to the gaming industry, but the fact that it's coming at a time when Bungie and Activision are under such scrutiny for their money-grabbing business tactics is a major turn off.