Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - What We Know So Far

Unlike the original Destiny, Bungie shows no sign of abandoning Destiny 2 anytime soon in favor of a Destiny 3. The company has already road-mapped a trilogy of expansions, which will release over the next couple years. At long last, the studio is resuming its tale of Light vs. Darkness.

Players have loads to anticipate with the first expansion, Beyond Light. This update will introduce new Darkness powers, the Stasis element, and new equipment. After Beyond Light, players can dive into The Witch Queen, before concluding the trilogy with Lightfall.

The developers have shared a wealth of details about Beyond Light, but what does the second expansion hold in store? There's not a lot of established information about The Witch Queen, but here's everything we do know.

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen's release is a long way off. While Beyond Light will launch in 2020, The Witch Queen has a tentative release window of 2021. Not October 2021 or Summer 2021, just 2021.

Normally, you could use past launch dates to guesstimate when Bungie plans on releasing The Witch Queen. For example, Destiny 2 launched in September 2017. Curse of Osiris released in December 2017, Warmind in May 2018, Forsaken in September 2018, and Shadowkeep in October 2019. What can you glean from those dates? Only that Destiny expansions tend to avoid early year releases, which implies the first four months of 2021 are out. Probably.

Bungie may pull a fast one and kick 2021 off with a January release of The Witch Queen. It's too early to make any release date assumptions other than the promised window. At least Beyond Light will keep you busy until then.

Bungie has yet to announce who will star in The Witch Queen. However, since previous expansions named after specific characters have revolved around those characters (e.g., The Taken King, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind), it is safe to assume The Witch Queen will feature Savathûn, the Witch-Queen, sister of Oryx, the Taken King and one of the creators of the Hive race.

Moreover, odds are good Eris Morn will play a significant role in The Witch Queen given her history with the Hive. Eris mentions Savathûn by name around the 0:55 mark in the Season of Arrival trailer, which all but confirms Eris will appear in the expansion. Plus, she kind of has a score to settle with the Hive royal family, so she wouldn't miss a chance to kill any one of them.

Unfortunately, it's unclear where The Witch Queen will take place, partially because nobody knows where Savathûn is hiding. Her tendrils and influence expand to numerous locations players have visited previously, from the Moon to the Cabal spaceship The Leviathan, so she could be literally anywhere. However, Destiny players have a history of fighting Hive royalty, so you can make an educated guess.

Two of the most notable fights against Hive royalty centered on Oryx, The Taken King, and Crota, Son of Oryx (not Crota, Slayer of Guardians or a cool title, just Crota, Son of Oryx). Players fought Oryx in his personal Throne World (a.k.a. a pocket dimension) within the Ascendant realm, the High War. Meanwhile, players killed Crota in his own Throne World, the Oversoul Throne.

It is reasonable to assume The Witch Queen will take place, or at least end, within Savathûn's Throne World, the High Coven. Other than that assumption, players are completely in the dark.

Bungie has yet to reveal a proper trailer for The Witch Queen, but it sneaked a mini-trailer of sorts into the Season of Arrival trailer.

Starting at the 50 second mark, the Season of Arrival trailer cuts to Eris Morn talking to Zavala about how something interfered when the Darkness tried to "reach out." Then, she projects an image of Savathûn's emblem on Zavala's wall, stating in no uncertain terms that Savathûn blocked the Darkness' signal. This revelation upsets Zavala, and that's it so far. No pertinent information about new enemies, raids, or equipment, no clip of Savathûn gloating evilly, just Eris Morn giving five seconds of exposition.

Since The Witch Queen is a year away, this lack of a trailer isn't unexpected. However, the wait for a trailer will still be long and arduous.