Big changes are coming to Destiny 2 in the next few years, as far forward as 2022. Destiny 2’s Beyond Light presentation outlined what to expect from the shooter’s next season, next content year, and even teased coming years as well. After teasing prior to the trailer, viewers were surprised with not only Destiny 2’s Season of Arrivals trailer, but also Year 4’s Beyond Light content as well as the next two content years entitled The Witch Queen and Lightfall.
Various rumors and leaks had spread across the internet about what was next for Bungie’s space magic epic, all revolving around the Darkness. Now with Destiny 2’s imminent future, the Darkness is truly out in the open and potentially aiming for another potential Collapse of humanity. Over the next few years, Destiny 2’s world is going to receive a grand and epic upheaval courtesy of the malevolent force the series has been teasing since the very beginning.
The Near Future: Season of Arrivals, Beyond Light
In the near future, Destiny 2 has already gotten the ball rolling with its latest season starting June 9. Season of the Arrivals is the last season of content left in Year 3 before the major Beyond Light expansion this September. In a way, Season of the Arrivals (Season 11) will serve as a prelude to the events of Beyond Light, with Eris Morn and guardians intercepting a communication from the Darkness. Players will discover a new Darkness ship has arrived on Io, and guardians will need to team up with Eris to hold back the Darkness. Guardians will also seek answers from the Nine as part of the new mind-bending “Prophecy” dungeon as well. Season of Arrivals is now live on Destiny 2 already, with Year 4 beginning thereafter on September 22.
As for what’s coming in Beyond Light, the trailer provided some tidbits of information on big changes coming to Destiny 2. As Season of Arrivals ends, players will finally visit Europa, a location that’s been teased and rumored through concept art and Destiny lore ever since the first game. Eris, The Drifter, and the Exo Stranger will convene on the moon of Jupiter where a Darkness pyramid ship has landed. Players will gain access to the Darkness through new subclasses themed around “Stasis,” a darkness-themed damage type being added into Destiny 2 for the first time. There’s also a few other tidbits, like a new “device” the Exo Stranger is using that isn’t a Ghost from the Traveler.
Beyond Light is going to be a content year full of firsts for Destiny 2. Bringing back the mysterious Exo Stranger, who’s been missing since the first Destiny game, is a welcome but foreboding return. Destiny as a whole has not introduced a new damage type in the six years it’s been around, so Stasis will create a whole new dynamic of combat. Plus Beyond Light marks the much anticipated arrival of the Darkness that’s been on players’ minds since Shadowkeep.
Next Year and Beyond: The Witch Queen, Lightfall
Bungie also shared a surprising announcement for Destiny 2’s future content years, way ahead of time. It seems now Destiny 2 is finally beginning to realize its goal of providing an ever-evolving world that doesn’t require a numbered sequel. After Beyond Light, Bungie has announced two subsequent content years will follow. The first of which is Destiny 2: The Witch Queen in 2021, picking up where Beyond Light leaves off and marking the arrival of the Hive’s Queen Savathun. Then after that is Destiny 2: Lightfall for 2022, which despite being a working title for the official content year, fans have a solid idea what Bungie is hinting at.
Obviously Bungie simply confirmed the existence of these two extra content years, with no more details on what to expect. There are a few broad strokes fans can grasp on what to expect from these two years based on Destiny lore. As mentioned previously, The Witch Queen is a pretty clear reference to Savathiun, the Queen of the Hive who’s been around for centuries commanding the Hive in the Solar System. Savathun may make her grand entrance in Year 5 of Destiny 2 after spending many years being mentioned but never directly interacting with players’ guardians.
As for Lightfall, there’s not a whole lot of details we can gather, but it’s clear what that year will be about. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep was the first inkling that humans were on the brink of an impending second Collapse. Lightfall, or whatever the true name of Destiny 2’s Year 6 becomes, will likely signal the final battle against the Darkness. Considering the iconography is literally one of the Darkness ships swallowing any surrounding light from the Traveler, it’s not outrageous to expect that climactic clash fans have been waiting patiently for.
Miscellaneous Changes Coming to Destiny
Aside from the lore and content itself, there’s a ton of miscellaneous changes planned for Destiny 2 as well. The main big change for Destiny 2 is the inclusion of the “Destiny Content Vault (DCV),” a repository for old Destiny 1/2 content being retired. With Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Bungie intends to shelve older content from the base game, as well as the first Destiny, to both save storage space and make way for new expansions. Destiny 2 Game Director Luke Smith did clarify that this won’t exactly be a permanent retirement, and states Bungie will be receptive to feedback about previous content requests. Here’s what content will be shelved into DCV for Beyond Light’s launch: Io, Titan, Mercury, Mars, and the Leviathan, along with any associated PvE activities.
This is all in service to creating the ever-evolving Destiny that Bungie had initially envisioned for the franchise. Destiny 2 chose the option of closing off all previous content by making a standalone sequel, rather than utilizing the DCV. While many will speculate this was due to Bungie’s 10-year agreement with Activision, the problem of additional content was likely a big factor as well. Along those lines, during a Q&A with content creator DrLupo, Luke Smith stated there’s no plans to create another Destiny sequel. Smith assured that “we believe really strongly that we want to build the future of Destiny inside of the Destiny 2 game” for the future.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
