Today was a big day in the story of Bungie and Destiny. Through a livestream, the developer announced Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, the next big standalone expansion for the title. It also announced Destiny 2: New Light, the free-to-play bundle including all of the Destiny 2 Year One content. Then there’s the fact that you’ll be able to keep your progression regardless of which platform you play on.
In short, there were a ton of details released today, but these five were the ones that stood out to us. Most were fantastic, but one of them does drain the wind from our sails.
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Four Reasons We’re Excited
Cross Saves on All Platforms
Demand for some kind of progress migration has been high since the Destiny franchise first launched. There’s just so much grinding, unlocking, and more to do. Bungie has stepped up the stakes, however, bringing cross-platform progression to Destiny 2. This means all of your characters will exist across all platforms. Take your favorite Warlock and play them on Xbox, PC, or PlayStation and swap back and forth as frequently as you like.
Leaks suggested that only PC, Xbox, and Google Stadia would support cross saves. This looks like it was true until some time yesterday when Sony scrambled to add themselves to the pile after the initial wave of backlash. It was so last minute that the Bungie ViDoc, which included an example of cross save activation, didn’t include PlayStation 4.
Regardless, we’re excited! Those of us at the Fanbyte office are split between PC and PS4. Now we can move over to whatever platform is most convenient and raid together before splitting back off to our
Armor 2.0
AH! Finally! Bungie is basically bringing transmogrification to Destiny 2. You’ll be able to equip any armor mod that you’ve unlocked and equip it to any piece of armor. No more choosing between looks and effectiveness. Take the best build you can make and put it on any armor that you like!
Eris Morn, the Moon, and Past Enemies
The Eris Morn returns with Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. We’re going back to the moon where she’s accidentally unleashed a new threat which causes a Guardian’s worst nightmares to manifest. That means the return of Crota, Ghaul, and Skolas. It truly will be the Season of the Undying.
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.
It’s an MMO
Just the simple fact that Bungie finally called Destiny 2 an MMO is a huge step forward. The game has always straddled the line between looter shooter, RPG, and MMO. At times it’s been more one than another, but with the departure from Activision, Bungie is firmly leaning into the latter two.
We suspect this will mean more cosmetics, more RPG elements, and even further depth in the game’s systems. In a way, Destiny 2: New Light feels a lot like when Elder Scrolls Online pushed the One Tamriel update. The update lets anyone, regardless of level or alliance, do basically any content they want anytime they want. It’ll be interesting to see how the game changes after the release of Shadowkeep!
One Big Concern
Expansions Aren’t Cross Platform
While things can possibly change, according to the cross play preview that Bungie showed, expansions are not cross platform.
While your Silver and purchased season passes will be available regardless of platform, if you want to play Shadowkeep content on both PS4 and PC, you’ll need to shell out the $35 twice.
With Destiny solely back in the hands of Bungie, there’s no telling where the game will go or what it will do next. Cross play was wanted earlier but unfeasible due to “capital ‘R’ Reasons,” as General Manager Mark Noseworthy put it. In short, Activiation and/or Sony kept it from happening. But now that Bungie only has to care about its own bottom line and fanbase, it’s free to do a lot more wild ideas like this. We’re excited, we just wish we didn’t have to shell out $70 to Shadowkeep on more than one platform.
