Bungie said that they were going to talk about the "next chapter of Destiny 2" today and talk they did. They even said that they are going to push Destiny 2 into becoming more of an MMO. Yes, they actually said the big "M" word publicly when talking about Destiny 2! That's a huge deal! Today's livestream not only confirmed today's earlier leaks, but announced so much more. Let's just dig right into it all.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is the next expansion for Destiny 2. It will be released on September 17 and will take players back to the Moon. Not only that, but Guardians will reconnect with Eris Morn, who has returned and "unleashed something that once slumbered beneath the lunar surface - a long dormant power even she cannot control."
Shadowkeep will be a completely standalone release. There is no need to buy Forsaken or any other parts of the game to access it. We'll have a trailer for that down below. This standalone idea will also apply to future seasons moving forward.
Beyond this, Bungie also announced Destiny 2: New Light, a free-to-play release of Destiny 2. This release will include the base game of Destiny 2, all foundational modes, activities, and rewards. This includes all of Destiny 2's year one content including Curse of Osiris and Warmind.
Both New Light and Shadowkeep are releasing on the same day. When this happens, it will also include cross-save between PC, Xbox, Google Stadia, and yes, even PlayStation. It seems as though this agreement with Sony to allow for cross-save capabilities happened very much at the last minute.
There will be no more platform exclusive content! No longer will Xbox and PC owners have to wait a year to access content that was previously exclusive to the PlayStation 4 for upwards of a year.
Destiny 2 is also making the jump from Battle.net to Steam when Shadowkeep releases. Right now, Bungie doesn't have a set plan in place as to how users will make this move, but they're leaning towards it being an account linking page on the Bungie website. This will allow you to transfer over your character and all content from Battle.net to Steam when that time comes.
There are some more details over at Bungie. Before you do that, you can now pre-order Destiny 2: Shadowkeep for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and for PC via Steam. How weird is that to see? The Standard version is $34.99 (PS4, XB1, Steam), while a Digital Deluxe version is $59.99 for those that want to own some extra goodies. The DD version is available for all platforms, including Stadia. There is also a Collector's Edition physical release of Shadowkeep that you can purchase for any platform. This will either run you $149.99 for the complete package offering everything plus the game or you can get the physical goodies and no game for $89.99.
And now, the trailer for Destiny 2: Shadowkeep along with today's information packed ViDoc. You're going to want to check out both videos because there's a lot to take in. Namely it looks like Bungie is bringing forth a ton of the old Destiny 1 content into Destiny 2 with this transition to a new model and a new beginning.
A NEW CHAPTER
As the heroes of the last safe city turned their attention to frontiers beyond the protection of the Vanguard, new Nightmares have emerged from the shadows of our long-forgotten Moon.
Called forth by the haunting visions from her tormented past, Eris Morn has returned and unleashed something that once slumbered beneath the lunar surface – a long dormant power even she cannot control.
Return to the Moon. Journey deep into a mysterious enemy citadel. Help Eris slay these nightmares before they reach out beyond the Moon to cast humanity back into an age of darkness.
As the heroes of the last safe city turned their attention to frontiers beyond the protection of the Vanguard, new Nightmares have emerged from the shadows of our long-forgotten Moon.
Called forth by the haunting visions from her tormented past, Eris Morn has returned and unleashed something that once slumbered beneath the lunar surface – a long dormant power even she cannot control.
Return to the Moon. Journey deep into a mysterious enemy citadel. Help Eris slay these nightmares before they reach out beyond the Moon to cast humanity back into an age of darkness.
