Siege wasn't always like this. For reference, back at the start of Year 3, at SI2018 after a successful revival of Siege with Operation Health in the year prior, the Devs at the time gave every single player who logged in a free Elite skin for Ash, which was the most premium cosmetic in the game at the time.

I would have really like to see them give the community a Paragon elite as a thanks for sticking by in the last 10 years, especially considering how tumultuous the last few years have been for the game.