Destiny 2: Beyond Light - What We Know So Far
On June 9, Bungie revealed Destiny 2's next major expansion, Beyond Light — among other big developments. In a departure from its usual reveal methods, the company showed off new features for the free-to-play MMO shooter through a live stream. Bungie had been pretty quiet about what's in store, but made up for its silence in spades. Now players have an expansion trilogy, a plan for cross-generational play, and support for Destiny 2 for years to come to look forward to.
Season of Arrivals, a prelude to the coming expansion, has already launched, and Beyond Light will arrive in the fall. There's a lot to process, and a lot for fans to get excited about. But what exactly has Bungie established about Beyond Light? Here's the information the developer has revealed so far about the future of Destiny 2. Take a look at what The Darkness has in store.
Does Destiny 2: Beyond Light have a release date?
Destiny 2: Beyond Light was originally slated to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on September 22, 2020; however, on July 16, Bungie delayed the launch to November 10.
Beyond Light will come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well, but there's no release date on those yet. Which isn't unexpected, considering there's no set release date for either of those systems either. Don't worry, your player progress will carry over, so you can start on one system and move to another if you're planning to jump on the next-gen bandwagon. Additionally, you won't have to re-purchase if you started out on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.
One of Bungie's recent announcements is that cross-play will come to Destiny 2 sometime in 2021, along with the next expansion, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen. The 2022 expansion will be Destiny 2: Lightfall. You can pre-order Beyond Light now.
Does Destiny 2: Beyond Light have a trailer?
Beyond the Destiny 2: Beyond Light reveal trailer's gorgeous artistic direction and musical mood-setting, Bungie has released a gameplay trailer that shows some pre-alpha footage of what players can expect from the expansion.
Both trailers are designed to increase the hype level and get fans excited. The first includes a meeting between Eris Morn, the Drifter, and the Exo Stranger, who hasn't been seen since the original Destiny.
The idea of being able to wield the Darkness, seen in the gameplay trailer, is especially enticing. The all-new power is called Stasis, and it joins the current powers — Arc, Solar, and Void — to provide players with new abilities and Supers they can use against enemies. Stasis is based around manipulating time, but it's unclear how the Stasis subclasses will work.
This is the first time Destiny has added a new damage type, and its progression tree is said to be more flexible than that of the existing classes. Bungie has promised more details on Stasis this summer.
Which characters will Destiny 2: Beyond Light focus on?
The trailer reveals characters and locations that will appear in the new expansion. You can expect a return of the Exo Stranger, who led the player around in the first Destiny's campaign, jumping in and out of reality at will. As well as Eris Morn and the Drifter.
The story will focus on the Fallen, who are splintered but working to reunite under a new leader, Eramis. Eramis apparently wants revenge against the Traveler for abandoning the Fallen.
Eramis isn't exactly a new character — she's been mentioned before as a Fallen Baroness in the House of Devils, the last remnant of the nobility after villains Solkis, Riksis, and Aksis. However, she's been upgraded to full-on villain now, complete with the powers of Darkness. She has taken her Fallen faction underground on Europa to find Pyramid Ships that will make her even more powerful. The goal of players in Beyond Light is to put a stop to her nefarious plans.
Which locations will appear in Destiny 2: Beyond LIght?
The action of Beyond Light takes place on Jupiter's moon, Europa. Within that frozen landscape, players can expect a new raid inside the Deep Stone Crypt, a mysterious place that has previously been teased but will now be seen in all its glory. The trailer shows off a bit of the icy moon and its underground locations, and they look pretty amazing so far.
Europa, in the mythology of the Destiny franchise, is the birthplace of the Exo and was once home to a colony of humans lost during the Collapse. All that remains of those humans is the abandoned cities under the ice, which presumably players will finally get to explore for themselves. The appearance of Europa as a location in a Destiny game has been planned possibly as far back as 2013, so it'll be interesting to see how it all fits into the narrative Bungie is building.