It’s hard to believe that the year of content followingDestiny 2’s comprehensive expansion The Final Shape is almost over. With the Light and Darkness saga wrapped up, and the game moving beyond its Solar borders, there is a lot to be excited about for the future.
Although Episode Heresy’s story is seemingly complete, Rites of the Nine coming to fill the gap until the next expansion means there’s still reason to stick around. Anyone looking at their rewards tracker will have noticed, though, that Heresy ends on July 15, which could be a big date forDestiny 2.
July 15 Could Make Way for Destiny 2’s The Edge of Fate Expansion
Bungie has scheduled a special livestream toreveal The Edge of Fateon May 6, giving players a glimpse of the game’s first push beyond the bounds of the solar system. From the announcement on social media, it would appear that the enigmatic Nine will be involved with the expansion. The Nine have not been featured very much recently, but many players have speculated that after the Light and Darkness story arc, the faction could play a larger role.
Given that the current Episode ends on July 15, it could be assumed that the expansion may launch the following day; however, Bungie has not confirmed this yet. The studio has a lot on its plate now withMarathonentering alpha testing, andDestinyexpansions have a history of being delayed. The clearest suggestion so far could be the Rites of the Nine itself, as a Nine-themed event feels like the perfect tie-in to a Nine-led expansion.
There Is a Lot Riding on Destiny 2’s Future
There will be a lot of expectations to fulfill with this expansion, and Bungie surely knows this. One thing that has been missing for a long time is athird Darkness subclassto balance out Light. Prismatic was a fun inclusion in The Final Shape with seemingly endless build variety, but wasn’t what fans were expecting from a new subclass, so rounding out Darkness in the near future would be a good way to make good on that.
What is confirmed to be changing isThe Edge of Fate will not have Episodes, which will be replaced by a rotating model of small and large expansions. This isn’t particularly controversial news, as many fans have voiced their concerns over the past year, expressing the sentiment that Episodes feel like long seasons. While some of the new activities have been received well, the structure of the overall content delivery never really felt different to seasons the way that Bungie hinted it might.
No more Episodes also means no more seasonal storytelling, though Bungie will still want to keep the story fresh through other means. This is a double-edged sword, as some seasonal stories were incredibly memorable, like in Season of the Chosen, but when it was weaker, player engagement suffered heavily. There could be a big shift in how the game tells its stories if it will be more expansion-driven, and there are plenty ofDestiny2 characters that should returnin The Edge of Fate to tell new ones.
Many fans will want to know how the game plans to engage them.Destiny 2has historically used its seasonal model to keep players coming back week after week, but relying exclusively on expansions could change that. Thedrip-feeding ofDestiny 2contenthas definitely been controversial in the past, and many players may want more time to play other games. Until the reveal event, it’s unclear what will happen at the end of Episode Heresy, but Bungie are certain to have many surprises in stock.
