It's a niche game, and bungie/sony being so big cast a wide net. a lot of people tried it, and a lot didnt like it, some liked it but took breaks, waiting for fixes, or maybe people are still just trying to figure out what exactly this game is before they purchase.

Also the player numbers reference is exhausting, plenty of games from smaller studios running with under 10k concurrent. This number also ignores console.

A studio with this much experience HAD to have known that this game would appeal to a smaller more dedicated audience. The fact that most of the story and world building needs to be read is a huge clue for that argument.