Everything We Know About Destiny 2
Bungie's success with Destiny has been enormous for the studio that created Halo, and Activision couldn't be more happy with their partnership. Now the developer is busy behind-the-scenes working on a full sequel.
What do we know so far?
UPDATE (31/03/2017): Bungie and Activision confirm release date, announce PC version, reveal deluxe and collector's edition, tease story with cinematic trailer and schedule Beta for summer.
Release
Destiny 2 launches worldwide September 8th, 2017.
A Destiny 2 Beta will go live this summer for user feedback - platforms not confirmed yet.
Platforms
The original Destiny was exclusive to the console masses for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 when it launched back in September 2009. It never came to PC despite Bungie teasing now and then that it could possibly make the journey to desktop.
Destiny 2 is in development and scheduled to launch simultaneously for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Story
The last safe city of Earth has fallen to a new enemy menacing mankind with their elite army the Red Legion occupying the crumbling ruins of civilization's last gasp. Guardians must band together to fight back and reclaim what has been lost or face annihilation, either in the name of duty and sacrifice or for glory and reward.
Gameplay
Destiny 2 will be more 'casual friendly' according to a recent Activision chat with investors, but it won't be robbing the experience fans of Destiny have come to enjoy.
"The cornerstone of that is a great cinematic story," Activision Hirshberg explained. "That's been a real focus with a great cast of memorable, relatable characters, coupled with some very nice ways to make the game more accessible to a casual player, without losing anything that our core players love. We've made it more accessible to someone who just wants to have a great more casual first-person action experience."
Actual gameplay will be making its debut May 18th, 2017 in a live stream of Destiny 2 by Bungie.
"...the first hands-on gameplay reveal livestream will be broadcast around the world on May 18. The broadcast will showcase a variety of fun, action-oriented activities within Destiny 2, and will highlight the brand-new, epic adventure waiting for players."
Content Updates & Expansions
Bungie are believed to be aiming for quarterly updates for Destiny 2 as they introduce big slices of new stuff to play with, as well as deliver any refinements to the game itself. The very first big expansion to the sequel is already in the works by a small team, continue those Reddit rumours, with an eye for Fall 2018.
They have teased that populated areas such as towns and camps will 'feel more alive' in the sequel, having their densities increased to be more believable and less sterile. There's nothing worse that arriving in a 'bustling settlement' only to feel like everyone standing around are little better than cardboard cutouts or people drafted as cheap extras on a set.
Migration
As players choose to migrate from Destiny to Destiny 2, will their characters also be coming across on a whole new journey? This is the big question and there are no definitive answers from Bungie or Activision.
The Reddit rumour source claims that due to the change in game engine - which will apparently speed up Bungie's capacity to apply updates faster - the studio isn't migrating over characters. New player characters will need to be created, they say, which will benefit from greater levels of customisation. Bungie may yet have a system in place to provide bonuses however should you have Destiny characters and certain accolades under your belt.
E3 2017 is scheduled to run June 13-15 in Los Angeles, California.
Standard, Digital and Collector's Editions
• Destiny 2 - $59.99 SRP
• Destiny 2 + Expansion Pass - $89.99 SRP
• Destiny 2 - Digital Deluxe Edition - $99.99 SRP
• Destiny 2 - Limited Edition - $99.99 SRP
• Destiny 2 - Collector's Edition - $249.99 SRP
Stay tuned as we all learn more over the coming months!
