Destiny 2 Beyond Light kicked off a new trio of expansions, but Bungie took the unusual step of confirming the names of the shooter's next big expansions - meaning we know what to expect right up until 2023, sort of.
Lightfall was supposed to be arriving in 2022, but that could have changed now after The Witch Queen was delayed. We also know this will be followed by Destiny 2: The Final Shape.
For now, here's everything we know about Destiny 2: Lightfall, starting with the latest news.
Latest News
23 February 2023
Bungie has just launched the official launch trailer for Lightfall during the Playstation State of Play 2023!
17 January 2023
Bungie has dropped a brand new trailer showcasing the environment of Neomuna, as well as hinting at some interesting story beats! Check out the trailer below!
11 January 2023
We're a month and a half or so away from the launch of Lightfall. Bungie has changed up the names of the Warlock and Titan Strand subclasses.
The Warlock Strand subclass is now the Broodweaver, and the Titans are now Berserkers. This is expected to only be a cosmetic change, and shouldn't affect gameplay much if at all, especially this close to launch.
12 December 2022
At the game awards, we were greeted with a brand new trailer for Lightfall. In this trailer we got to get a closer look at what we can expect from the new Darkness subclass, Strand. We got to see the supers for each of the classes in action, as well a shockingly cool way to use the Strand Tether.
In this trailer we see the perspective of a Strand using Guardian tether themselves to a Thunder Crash Titan and fly behind them. While we though that the tether ability was going to be used to anchor to fixed objects like buildings and anchor points, being able to tether to another player is very cool.
23 August 2022
Today was the Destiny 2 Showcase stream to kick off Season 18 of the Witch Queen. In the stream, we got a launch an official release date for Lightfall, February 28, 2023! Pre-orders are live right now and if you pre-order the game, you'll get an exotic auto-rifle, Quicksilver Storm today!
On top of that we have some information about what's coming in Lightfall. Our first main zone is called Neomuna, which is the hidden capital city of Neptune. It's a bustling futuristic metropolis with skyscrapers and lights.
We also have the name and a first look at Strand, our next Darkness power. Strand leverages a cosmic web that connects all things, and our Guardians are touching that web. As we see, all classes will get a new mobility option, a grappling hook. We also see what looks like either abilities or supers. The Warlock has what looks like an temporal rift, Hunters have a whip with a spike on the end, and Titans have some spike hands.
21 July 2022 -
Today, Bungie put out a tweet with a teaser trailer! This trailer is for a Destiny 2 Showcase event, which will take place on August 23. This is the same date that Season 17: Season of the Haunted ends, so it stands to reason that we'll see information and a release date for Lightfall.
5 May 2022 -
While we still wait for information on Lightfall, fans of The Witch Queen will be happy to know that the campaign lead from the DLC will lead Lightfall's campaign.
According to Andre Hopps, development on the next major expansion is well underway.
31 January 2022 -
Sony Interactive Entertainment has bought Destiny 2 developer Bungie for a reported $3.6 billion. But if you're wondering if that means Destiny 2 will become exclusive and what that might mean for future expansions like Lightfall, fret not.
In a blog post following the announcement, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons confirmed that the game and any future Bungie franchises will remain multiplatform, writing:
"Like us, SIE believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become. Together, we share a dream of creating and fostering iconic franchises that unite friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across multiple platforms and entertainment mediums."
24 August 2021 -
click to enlarge
+ 3Bungie's Destiny 2 Witch Queen Showcase just unveiled a tonne of new info, but perhaps nothing as big as the news that Destiny 2 Lightfall, isn't the final expansion we all thought it was.
"The Light and Darkness saga will come to a dramatic conclusion in Destiny 2: The Final Shape. Make no mistake. Destiny 2 will continue beyond."
We imagine that with Witch Queen due to launch in February 2022, Lightfall will most likely arrive in early 2023.
23 August 2021 -
The Witch Queen expansion will be unveiled tomorrow, alongside Season of the Lost.
In anticipation, Bungie has given us our first look at Savathun.
Destiny 2 Lightfall Release Date
The Witch Queen was intended for 2021, but has been delayed until 2022 - likely pushing Lightfall back, too. After all, it's unlikely that we'd get two big expansions within 9 months of each other.
In a blog post about the Witch Queen delay, Bungie had this to say:
“Last summer, we outlined our ambition for the next era in Destiny 2 by announcing the full arc, starting with Beyond Light, followed by the Witch Queen and Lightfall. As we began to scale production on the Witch Queen last year, we made the difficult but important decision to move its release to early 2022; we also realized we needed to add an additional unannounced chapter after Lightfall to fully complete our first saga of Destiny.”
click to enlarge + 3Expansion Story
With the expansion still two years (and two expansions worth of content) away, we don't know a lot about the story. The logo shows the pyramid ships of the Darkness, suggesting they'll tie into the narrative. Witch Queen will focus on Savathun, Oryx's sister, so it'll be interesting to see how the universe stands after we've taken her on.
Even then, we won't truly know what Lightfall will be about until some time after the release of Witch Queen, as Bungie normally progresses the story along with each season of content. So it's unlikely we'll have a proper steer on Lightfall's story until Season 19 or Season 20.
Expansion Trailer
There's no trailer for the expansion yet, but you'll find its announcement at the tail end of this Destiny retrospective.
Season Pass
Season Passes are back for Beyond Light, but Bungie has learned its lessons from previous passes. In a blog post, the devs had this to say:
"In Year 4, we are going to build a better-interconnected narrative and, more importantly, let players be a part of that narrative no matter when they enter the current year. This means if you start playing in March 2021, you could go back and experience the Season 12 and Season 13 narrative content. We want our stories to feel more cohesive, flow with meaningful momentum Season over Season, and lead to an exciting climax each year."
"We haven’t preserved enough history for a player who comes in mid-year to have any concept of what came in that year’s prior Seasons. As a result, players can feel left behind later in the year and unable to experience the stories or to acquire prior Seasons’ weapons and gear. The Forsaken Season Pass allowed its content to build up over the course of the year, and that’s where we’re heading in Year 4."
Does that mean they'll continue into Lightfall? It's hard to say, but the Witch Queen is likely to give some indication.
click to enlarge + 3New Features
We don't know what's coming as part of the expansion, but we'd expect the following:
Subclass Changes
Every class is in a constant state of flux in Destiny 2 as they're constantly being balanced, but with Beyond Light introducing the new Stasis damage type to wield, expect more tweaks than usual over the course of the next year.
Maybe we'll get a new damage type, too?
Sandbox Changes
Destiny's "sandbox" is a general way of describing how the game plays, and it'll likely be getting hefty updates with the expansion. So expect new locations to explore.
New Raid?
There's a good chance that Lightfall will introduce a new raid, hopefully pitting us against the Darkness at long last. Every major expansion has introduced a new raid – and we can't see Bungie changing that now.
Old Content Returning From Destiny 1?
At the reveal event, Bungie announced the game's older content will be cycled in and out of Destiny 2. When it's out, it'll be in what's known as the "Destiny Content Vault". This allows Bungie to rework game modes and missions, and also allows for content from Destiny 1 to be cycled into the game.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Game Director Luke Smith said not all expansions will unvault prior content.
"Each expansion is going to include a brand-new destination," Smith explained, "so The Witch Queen is not going to unvault one. For a destination to be unvaulted, it has to be updated to the latest context for the universe, so even with Cosmodrome, we updated a bunch of it to the latest context." Find out more here.