Destiny 2

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessor, Destiny 2 is a first-person shooter game that incorporates role-playing and massively multiplayer online game (MMO) elements. The original Destiny includes on-the-fly matchmaking that allowed players to communicate only with other players with whom they were "matched" by the game. To communicate with other players in the game world, players had to use their respective console's messaging system, until an in-game text chat was added later on. Destiny 2 features a more optimal way of matchmaking called "Guided Games", which allows players to search for clans who may need additional players for raids. Like the original, activities in Destiny 2 are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types.

Character progression and classes

As in the original game, players are able to improve their characters, referred to as Guardians, by gaining experience points (EXP) — when a set number of experience points are accumulated, the player's character will level up and gain improved statistics which further enhance performance in battle. As of the Shadowkeep expansion, this leveling system has since been replaced with the "season pass" system where players use EXP to "rank up", which rewards different items each rank (while there is no max rank on a season pass, seasonal rewards end at level 100). Quests, including the "main scenario" quests, are specific tasks given to the player by non-player characters (NPCs) which reward items and EXP. Completing main scenario quest lines progresses the overarching plot of the game.

Destiny 2 features the same three-character classes as the original Destiny. Each class has its own specific upgrades, perks, special abilities, and three sub-classes that allow players to finely tune their individual characters to provide a different play style. The three classes are Warlock, Hunter, and Titan. After choosing a class, players select one of three species for their character: Human, Awoken (bluish-gray-skinned descendants of Humans), or Exo (humanoid machines). They can then customize their characters, such as changing their gender or skin color. A character's species is cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. Players can create two more characters to have a character of each class.

Hunters continue to have access to the Solar-based "Gunslinger" sub-class from the original game and the Void-based "Nightstalker" sub-class from the original's The Taken King expansion, both with gameplay changes. The Hunter's new sub-class for Destiny 2 is the Arc-based "Arcstrider", replacing the "Bladedancer" sub-class of the original. Arcstrider's super, "Arc Staff", focuses on an electrified staff and a large amount of rapid mobility. Forsaken added three new supers for each of the Hunter sub-classes: "Blade Barrage" for Gunslingers, focusing on throwing a volley of flaming knives; "Spectral Blades" for Nightstalkers, allowing players to see through walls and attack with Void daggers; and "Whirlwind Guard" for Arcstriders, which allows players to block and reflect projectiles by spinning their Arc Staff.

Warlocks continue to have access to the Void-based "Voidwalker" sub-class from the original game and the Arc-based "Stormcaller" sub-class from the original's The Taken King expansion, both with several changes. The Warlock's new sub-class for Destiny 2 is the Solar-based "Dawnblade" with a super called "Daybreak", replacing the "Sunsinger" sub-class of the original. The Daybreak super allows the player to make Solar Light blades to strike enemies from mid-air. Forsaken gives Warlocks three new supers: "Nova Warp" for Voidwalkers, allowing players to warp around the battlefield and unleash a Void explosion; "Chaos Reach" for Stormcallers, which unleashes a beam of Arc energy which can be turned off at any time to conserve Super energy but limits mobility; and "Well of Radiance" for Dawnblades, allowing players to create a healing and empowering aura for players to stand in. However, as of Lightfall, it no longer provides an overshield to the players standing inside it.

Gear

Weapons and armor were reorganized in Destiny 2. In the original game, weapons were divided as Primary, Special, and Heavy weapons. At launch, the weapons were categorized as Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons. Primary weapons and some Special weapons in the original – such as hand cannons and sidearms – are classified as Kinetic and Energy weapons. Those without an elemental damage type go in the Kinetic weapons slot while those with a Light-based elemental damage type (Arc, Solar, or Void) go in the Energy weapons slot. Darkness-based damage types (Stasis and Strand) are placed as Kinetic weapons as to avoid crowding of Energy weapon types and give players more options for gear to complete challenging end game content. Power weapons include the Heavy weapons and the more powerful Special weapons from the first game, such as shotguns and sniper rifles, as well as new weapon types, such as the grenade launcher. As of Forsaken, the weapons system was overhauled, with many Power weapons, such as most shotguns, single-shot grenade launchers, and most sniper rifles, being reorganized into Kinetic and Energy weapons slots. With armor, the name of the stats has been changed. Instead of Strength, Intellect, and Discipline, there are stats for Resilience, Recovery, and Mobility. For armor, the helmet, gauntlets, chest, legs, and class item slots have remained unchanged, but the artifacts slot has been replaced with one for a player's clan banners. In "Beyond Light" Stasis Weapons were also introduced, being used in the Kinetic and Heavy Slot. Lightfall introduced Strand weapons in kinetic and heavy slots as well.

As launched, both weapons and armor were generated with random perks and other attributes from a base set of stats. Special consumable mods could be earned through gameplay or vendors that could be slotted into in weapon or armor piece to improve its attribute. With the Forsaken expansion, the mod system was revamped. While gear still accepted mods, these were now items that needed to be acquired only once to add to a player's collection from the game's world, either from vendors or as an activity reward, with some mods being only available on more challenging activities. Mods now could be added and swapped out on gear from one's collection the cost in glimmer, as a way to help players customize gear better according to Bungie.

The Shadowkeep expansion brought two major changes affecting gear. First was the introduction of the "Armor 2.0" system; rather that random perks, armor is generated with randomized attributes in six major areas related to each class and to each class skill, along with an assigned element and an energy level. The total attribute score from all pieces of equipment armor influences factors such as class ability cooldown rate, the rate of their super ability, or the cooldown of grenades and melee abilities. Players can infuse resources into an armor piece to increase the armor's energy level. A new array of mods for armor was introduced, most which are limited by element type and require a certain amount of energy. Players can thus add mods into armor that matched the element type, limited by the current energy level for the armor. Each piece of armor is limited to one general mod, two mods specific to that armor type (like helmet or gloves) and a mod related to the seasonal events. Seasonal event mods can be gained through the game world and can also be granted by the re-introduction of season-long artifacts, also with Shadowkeep, which a player gains near the beginning of each season and levels up as they gain experience. As they level up the artifact, they select which mods to unlock which include both special weapon mods and these unique season mods, typically tied to the season's story. The weapon mods included the introduction of special Champions, powerful enemies that required a weapon with the corresponding mod to initially weaken before damage can be done to it. They can also be stunned by particular subclass abilities as of lightfall.

Player versus environment (PvE)

Like the original game, player versus environment game types makes up the majority of the game. Areas to explore include Earth's European Dead Zone (which was only represented by PvP maps in the original), Saturn's moon Titan, Jupiter's moon Io, and the centaur planet Nessus. The Curse of Osiris expansion adds Mercury as an explorable area, while the Warmind expansion adds Mars. Forsaken adds two new explorable areas in the Reef: the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, the latter being the mysterious sanctuary of the Awoken race and an end-game area that is accessible after completing the campaign of Forsaken. Shadowkeep reintroduced the Moon location from the original game, though revamped and reprised from its original iteration. There is also a new social space in the European Dead Zone called "The Farm", as the main portion of the Tower of the original was destroyed at the start of Destiny 2's campaign. However, a lower, undamaged portion of the Tower becomes the main social space post-campaign. Like the original, there are Patrol missions and public events, but the emphasis has been placed more on the exploration of the worlds, including towns that players can visit and friendly NPCs who can be found in-game and will give side-quests. New missions were added called "Adventures", which allow players to explore the area and go on a treasure hunt-like journey to dungeon-like areas. Some Adventures culminate in what is called a Lost Sector, which are somewhat hidden areas in worlds that lead players to a boss that yields rewards upon its defeat. Lost Sectors can be found and accessed without doing an Adventure. Starting with the Curse of Osiris expansion, Heroic Adventures were added, which are harder versions of Adventures and they rotate each week.

A map has also been added to the game, which shows the locations of the NPCs, Adventures, Heroic Adventures, Region Chests, and Lost Sectors. The maps of these new areas are much larger than those in the original Destiny, with one being described as twice as large as any area of the original. Players no longer have to leave a planet and go to orbit to travel to another location; they can now do so immediately from their current in-game location. Another new activity has been added called Flashpoints, which is a weekly milestone that takes place on one of the eight locations and rotates each week. Players complete public events, loot Lost Sectors and complete Heroic Adventures to earn high-level rewards. Similar to the original game, players can pledge their allegiance to one of three factions — Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, or New Monarchy. In Destiny 2, however, the factions now compete against each other in the Faction Rally, which is a periodic event that lasts for one week. Faction points are earned by doing various activities. The faction with the most points at the end of the week earns a high-level reward for 1,000 Glimmer (in-game currency). The losing factions can also gain the reward, but must pay 50,000 Glimmer for their faction's item.

Player versus player (PvP)

Like the original, player versus player combat exists in what is called the Crucible with Lord Shaxx returning as its NPC "Handler". The original Destiny's Crucible featured six-versus-six and three-versus-three game modes, as well as a limited time two-versus-two mode. At launch, all game modes were four-versus-four as Bungie shifted their focus to smaller teams for competitive multiplayer and better map design, but Quickplay modes eventually became six-versus-six. Like the original, player statistics such as weapon power and defense are balanced between players in Crucible game modes. The in-game HUD was updated so that players can see if an enemy has their super charged, and/or if they are carrying power ammo. Currently, players have the option to choose between four rotating playlists, rumble (a six-player Free-for-All game mode) survival and freelance survival (A version of survival where players cannot choose the teammates on their team), classic mix, and private matches.

Trials of Osiris from the original game was replaced by Trials of the Nine. Like Trials of Osiris, Trials of the Nine begins on Fridays and ends with the weekly reset on Tuesdays. The game mode for this new Trials, however, has changed; instead of using the Elimination mode of the original, Trials of the Nine rotates each week between Destiny 2's two new game modes, Countdown and Survival. Only one map is featured for Trials' four-day duration, but the map also rotates weekly. Unlike Trials of Osiris, players can gain access to the Trials of the Nine's social space called The Spire, located in unknown space, for completing a match of Trials and earning Trials tokens. There, players will meet an NPC called the Emissary of the Nine, who will exchange tokens for gear. Gaining three, five, and seven wins on the scorecard, respectively, gain access to the upper tiers of the social space with greater rewards at each tier. Going flawless with seven wins allows admittance into an exclusive area with even greater rewards. Three losses reset the scorecard. To access Trials of the Nine, players must have completed the campaign, completed Lord Shaxx's "Call to Arms" milestone, and have a Power level of at least 260.

The periodic competitive Iron Banner PvP mode of the original game, which disabled balancing of player's gear, also returned for the sequel. Destiny 2's Iron Banner, however, does not disable balancing, with Bungie stating that "Your fighting abilities, not your power levels, will decide the outcome". This was changed following the release of Forsaken, with balancing becoming disabled like the original game. Like the original, Iron Banner lasts for one week and features milestones to complete daily. Players must have completed the campaign and be level 20 to access Iron Banner, which features the returning Lord Saladin from the original game as its NPC.

Plot

The Red War (2017)

One year after the SIVA Crisis, Cabal forces of the Red Legion launch an aerial assault on the Last City, destroying the main portion of the Tower, the headquarters of the Guardians. The player's Guardian and their Ghost respond by assisting the Vanguard in assaulting the Red Legion command ship. As they confront the Red Legion's commander, Dominus Ghaul, his forces attach a device to the Traveler and begin draining it of the Light, the power used by the Guardians. The Guardian loses their powers and is nearly killed by Ghaul. Waking up two days after the attack, the Guardian locates their Ghost, who can still heal the Guardian but can no longer resurrect them. They find a haven known as "the Farm" in the European Dead Zone (EDZ) with the assistance of Suraya Hawthorne, a non-Guardian human from the outskirts of the Last City.

The Guardian follows a vision to encounter a shard of the Traveler hidden in a forest within the EDZ. Ghost interfaces with the shard and both it and the Guardian's connection to the Light are restored. After restoring long-range communications, Hawthorne intercepts a distress call from Commander Zavala, urging surviving Guardians to travel to Saturn's moon Titan to assist in preparing to mount a counter-offensive. Against Hawthorne's objections, the Guardian travels to Titan, which has been overrun by the Hive. With assistance from Deputy Commander Sloane, they learn that the Red Legion was dispatched to the Milky Way in response to a distress call sent during the Taken War two years prior, and that Ghaul possesses a superweapon known as the Almighty, a space station capable of destroying stars. Resistance to Cabal rule has resulted in entire star systems being destroyed. The intelligence also reveals that the Almighty is positioned near the Sun, breaking up the planet Mercury as fuel. Zavala tasks the Guardian to find Ikora Rey and Cayde-6 to assist in a counterattack to retake the Last City. During this time, it is shown that Ghaul, aided by his mentor, the Consul, overthrew and exiled Emperor Calus and took control of the Cabal, and has been studying the Traveler in order to learn how to utilise the Light.

The Guardian locates Cayde-6 on the centaur Nessus, which has almost been completely transformed by the Vex. With the aid of Failsafe, an AI from the crashed colony ship Exodus Black, the Guardian frees Cayde from a Vex portal loop and claims a teleporter for use in taking back the city. Cayde directs the Guardian to find Ikora on the Jovian moon of Io (which the Traveler had partially terraformed until the Darkness arrived), where she had gone to find answers about the Traveler. Ikora and Io researcher Asher Mir direct the Guardian to locate a Warmind, an ancient defensive AI, for intelligence on the Almighty. This intelligence reveals that simply destroying the Almighty will take the sun down with it. Afterwards, the Vanguard reunites at the Farm and conclude that the only way to retake the Last City and save the Traveler is to shut down the Almighty first, eliminating the possibility of it destroying the Sun. The Guardian boards the Almighty using a stolen Cabal ship and disables the weapon, signaling Zavala to begin the counterattack. As the Vanguard begins the assault, the Consul admonishes Ghaul for his obsession with the Traveler, and urges him to simply take the Light by force, rather than trying to earn it; Ghaul is reluctant until the Consul kills the Speaker, whom Ghaul had captured and tortured to try and learn more about the Traveler. Ghaul then proclaims that he will take the Light, and strangles the Consul in a fit of rage.

New Light

With the release of the free-to-play New Light version of Destiny 2 in October 2019, Bungie changed the beginning of the game for new players, reintroducing the first mission from the original Destiny as the introductory mission for new players. Upon completing this brief mission, which ended with the player finding a jumpship, the player was taken to the Tower, where they met the various NPCs and could begin the Destiny 2 campaign (The Red War), as well as the Curse of Osiris and Warmind campaigns, after talking to Amanda Holliday in the Tower Hangar. Returning players could play this opening mission by creating a new character.

With the release of the Beyond Light expansion in November 2020, Destiny 2's original base campaign (The Red War), as well as all of the content from Curse of Osiris and Warmind were removed from the game and placed into the Destiny Content Vault and are no longer accessible (though Bungie unvaulted some associated destinations and activities later). In game, part of the content removal is explained through planets being taken over and removed from normal space by the forces of Darkness. As a result, Bungie introduced a new player experience to introduce new players to the world of Destiny. It features roughly the same opening as the 2019 New Light, but takes players on a quest further into the Cosmodrome to learn more about the Destiny universe, giving new players' Guardians a more fleshed out origin story. A new NPC for the Cosmodrome was also introduced, who acts as a guide for the new player quest. Veteran players can play through this new player questline by visiting the abandoned quest kiosk that was added to the Tower social space with the update.

Like the original Destiny, an opening cinematic is shown where a landing pod lands on Mars' surface in present day. Three astronauts leave the pod to explore the surface of Mars and find an enormous spherical object hovering in the sky. A narration begins, giving a brief history of the Traveler, the Darkness, and the Golden Age of humanity and the first Collapse caused by the Darkness. The game then begins as Ghost is searching among the detritus of Old Russia in the Cosmodrome until it finds and resurrects the player's Guardian, who had died in an undefined moment of the past—upon resurrection, Guardians have no memories of their past life from before becoming a Guardian. Ghost then guides the Guardian, battling Fallen enemies along the way, until they encounter a Vanguard Operative, a Hunter named Shaw Han, who is in search of his fireteam members, Cas and Maeve. Han initially tells the Guardian to stay behind and he would get them to the Last City after he finds his fireteam, but the Guardian and Ghost convince Han to allow them to assist him on his mission. Han has the Guardian go in search of Maeve while he searches for Cas. However, the Guardian is too late, as Maeve was killed by a Hive Wizard called Navôta, Eir Spawn, who also destroyed Maeve's Ghost, preventing Maeve from being resurrected; Han reports that he was also too late in saving Cas. They then meet up back at Han's camp, where Han says to honor his fireteam's loss, they should finish their mission; Han and his fireteam were in search of a Golden Age relic called a superconductor which the Vanguard believe can be used to create a powerful weapon, however, the superconductor is sealed within a chamber and is overloading the building with deadly Arc energy.

Light and Darkness Saga continued (2019–2025)

The first six years of Destiny 2 continue the Light and Darkness Saga from the first Destiny game in 2014.

While Destiny 2's expansions continued to expand the story, Bungie began a larger narrative epic with its seasonal content starting in Shadowkeep. During Shadowkeep, Eris Morn discovers a Pyramid ship buried beneath the Moon's surface. The Guardian encounters a Voice from the Darkness, warning them of the fleet's imminent arrival within the system. The Vanguard deal with new threats from Hive and Vex forces loyal to the Darkness as the Pyramid fleet arrives, taking positions above Io, Titan, Mercury, and Mars. The Darkness attempts to communicate with Eris, but is blocked by Savathûn. The Guardians defeat Savathûn's forces, giving the Darkness the opportunity to alert them to a new power awaiting them on Europa. Meanwhile, the Vanguard evacuate their forces from those planets occupied by the Darkness before they are abducted by a strange force. Deputy Commander Sloane, Asher Mir, and Brother Vance elect to stay behind on the planets as they vanish. As the planets began to disappear from space, the Traveler started gathering Light, exhibiting unfamiliar behavior. A Vanguard command is given out to all Guardians across the Solar System to return to the Last City, and they witness the Traveler repairing its broken shell in a burst of Light.

In Beyond Light, the Vanguard find signs of the Darkness pyramids across the system. On Europa, the Guardians accept the power of Stasis from the Darkness to defeat a new Fallen House that also learned to use Stasis. Zavala and other members of the Vanguard are concerned about the use of the powers of Darkness. However, they recognize its effectiveness against the oppositional forces of humanity. The Vanguard make alliances with the Cabal and one of the Fallen Houses, as they recognize they face common threats. It is revealed that Savathûn is impersonating Osiris, the former Warlock Vanguard, possibly to manipulate the current Vanguard. She is willingly held in a crystal encasement by Mara Sov, having made a deal to return the real Osiris if Mara agrees to exorcise her worm. After the Guardians rescue Techeuns lost in the Ascendant Realm, Savathûn's worm is exorcised, and Mara Sov aims to kill her in her weakened state. However, Savathûn escapes in the aftermath, leaving behind a comatose Osiris, fulfilling the bargain.

The Witch Queen focuses on the Hive God Savathûn, who has obtained the power of the Light and gifted it to her soldiers (known as the Lucent Brood). Taking place in Savathûn's Throne World, Guardians fight off the Hive to take back the Light. As the story progresses, it is revealed that the Traveler itself resurrected Savathûn, who died post-exorcism, and granted her brood the Light. This causes confusion among the Vanguard on why the Traveler helped humanity's enemy. As the Guardians fight off the Lucent Brood, they find and meet Fynch, a Lucent Ghost that allies with them in defeating Savathûn. They also learn from objects associated with Savathûn's past that her homeworld Fundament was visited by the Traveler. However, before the Traveler could gift them with a Golden Age, an entity called the Witness tricked Sathona, Savathûn's pre-Hive name, into believing that an incoming cataclysm would strike Fundament, caused by the Traveler. Her and her siblings were tricked into dealing with the Worm Gods in order to prevent the calamity, creating the Hive and turning the Hive away from the Traveler. Savathûn, stunned and angered by this revelation, unleashed her anger at the Guardians while trying to steal the Traveler "for its protection". The Guardian kills Savathûn, though her Ghost Immaru escapes. Elsewhere, the Witness prepares for a final assault of the Pyramid fleet against the Traveler.

Fate Saga (2025–2026)

Following The Final Shape, Bungie moved into what was planned to be a long-term story called the Fate Saga, which began with the Year of Prophecy expansions. Instead of four seasons as in past expansions, Bungie offered two mid-sized expansions, along with a free seasonal content update within each expansion. The first expansion, The Edge of Fate, launched in July 2025, and features the Guardians traveling to the planet Kepler with the Sol system's Oort Cloud, which involves the Nine. The next expansion, Renegades, launched in December 2025, and themed around concepts from Star Wars, a significant influence on Destiny's design, and includes crossover Star Wars elements into Destiny. The Fate saga was cut short, however, as Bungie ended support for Destiny 2 following the release of the Monument of Triumph update in June 2026.

Development

A sequel to Destiny was first mentioned in November 2014, two months after the original released, by Activision chief executive officer Eric Hirshberg, where he said "Work has also begun on future expansion packs as well as on our next full game release". Based on documents of the original release schedule for Destiny, Bungie and Activision intended to release new, disc-based sequels every other year until 2019, with large downloadable expansions in between. Originally planned for a September 2016 release (based on the original documents), Bungie confirmed on February 11, 2016, that a full sequel would release in 2017. That same month, video game writer Christopher Schlerf, who was the lead writer for Halo 4 and worked on Mass Effect: Andromeda, joined Bungie. In December 2016, Bungie announced that Vicarious Visions would be joining the development team along with Activision. Unlike the original, it was rumored that Destiny 2 would also release on Microsoft Windows, which was confirmed on March 30, 2017.

In Activision's earnings report for 2016, Hirshberg said that Destiny's sequel was still "on track for release this fall [2017]." Activision said the sequel would "broaden the franchise's global reach." Hirshberg elaborated that players who had spent hours in the original would "love" the sequel, and for those who had not played Destiny, or had not played in a while

... we think we've made a sequel that's going to have a lot for them to love, too. The cornerstone of that is a great cinematic story 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.

Bungie had said that players' characters and progression would carry over into future releases. However, this turned out to only be half true. Characters and progression did carry over into Destiny's expansions, but for the sequel, only players' characters' physical appearance carried over if they had reached level 20 and completed the Black Garden quest in the original. In regards to why progression and items did not carry over, Bungie said: "We believe this is the best path forward. It allows us to introduce the major advancements and improvements that all of us expect from a sequel, ensuring it will be the best game we can create, unencumbered by the past." Bungie awarded veteran players in Destiny 2 with in-game emblems that acknowledged their accomplishments in the original Destiny. Players' characters, progression, and items are still accessible in the original Destiny, which will continue to remain online.

Soundtrack

The original score was composed by Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, C. Paul Johnson, Rotem Moav, and Peter Schlosser. Although not credited in the original soundtrack, Michael Sechrist also composed for Destiny 2 and would be a more prominent composer in future DLCs such as Witch Queen and Beyond Light.When creating the music, the composers stated their goal with it was to "capture the somber spirit of a civilization confronting immense tragedy", and also to "inspire bravery in the hearts of our heroes as they stand together and fight to reclaim all that they hold dear".

The score was received very positively with the original soundtrack on YouTube receiving thousands of supportive comments from fans. Comments described the soundtrack as both epic and nostalgic for long time fans.

In October 2023, composers Michael Salvatori and Michael Sechrist were laid off amid staff cutbacks across the company. Soon after in January 2024, Skye Lewin left Bungie as well. The news of these layoffs among many other veteran employees was received poorly by the Destiny 2 community with disappointment expressed on large platforms such as X and Reddit.

Release

Destiny 2 was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One on September 6, 2017, and the Microsoft Windows version released worldwide on October 24. There were several editions of the game, including a Collector's Edition, a Limited Edition, a Digital Deluxe Edition, and the standard base game. Like the original, there was an Expansion Pass, which granted access to the first two expansions of Destiny 2. Also like the original Destiny, pre-orders for the game received early access to the game's beta, as well as other in-game pre-order bonuses, such as early access to the exotic weapon "Coldheart", the game's first trace rifle which shoots a continuous laser beam while the trigger is held. Pre-orders from GameStop received a Cayde-6 collectible figure. Other figures and toys, such as Lord Saladin, were released after Destiny 2's console launch. Per an exclusivity agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment that began with the original Destiny, the PlayStation 4 version of Destiny 2 featured timed-exclusive content until late 2018; PS4 exclusive content ended with the release of the Shadowkeep expansion in October 2019.

The Collector's Edition of Destiny 2 included the base game in a SteelBook case, the Expansion Pass, a themed backpack, a "Frontier Kit", which featured a solar panel USB charger with built-in light, a paracord, and a solar blanket, a 15" laptop/tablet sleeve with protective pocket slip, a Cabal-themed collector's box with various items, and premium digital content. The Limited Edition, distributed exclusively from GameStop, included the same physical and digital items as the Collector's Edition, minus the backpack, "Frontier Kit", and laptop/tablet sleeve. The Digital Deluxe Edition included all of the premium digital content. There was also a limited-time PlayStation 4 bundle that included a glacier white PlayStation 4 Pro, Destiny 2, the Expansion Pass, and premium digital content.

The Windows version was initially distributed exclusively through Blizzard Battle.net, marking the first non-Blizzard Entertainment title to be distributed via the platform. In January 2019, Bungie and Activision amicably broke their publishing agreement, leaving Bungie as the game's publisher for the PC version. The Windows version of Destiny 2 remained on the Battle.net platform for the next several months, but transitioned to Steam upon release of the Shadowkeep expansion in October 2019. As part of Bungie's plans to expand Destiny 2 to new platforms after their acquisition by Sony, Destiny 2 was added to the Epic Games Store in August 2022.

Promotion and merchandise

In 2017, Bungie, Activision and Amazon released the Destiny 2 Ghost Skill for the Amazon Echo. The Alexa application allowed players to speak to Ghost to request information, manage equipment, locate online friends and receive suggestions about activities. North recorded more than 1,000 lines as Ghost for the application, with the responses changing according to the player's progress. A limited-edition Wi-Fi speaker shaped like Ghost was released to accompany the skill.

Post-release content

Prior to the console release, Bungie said that they had already begun working on post-release content. Bungie stated that their plan was to provide post-release content at a quicker rate than that of the original Destiny, which was criticized for not having enough content post-launch and between each of its expansions releases. One of the team's remedies for this were the Adventures and Lost Sectors activities that were added to the free roam Patrol mode. Bungie also announced the Expansion Pass prior to launch, which granted access to the first two expansions of the game. The in-game clan features became available a few days after the game's launch. The Guided Games feature became available on September 12 for the Nightfall activity, the game's first raid, "Leviathan", unlocked on September 13 (with the Guided Games in beta), and Trials of the Nine became available on September 15, along with the character Xûr from the original game, the exotic items vendor who only appears on the weekends (Trials of the Nine was removed at the end of Year 1). The three factions and their respective NPCs from the original game returned on September 26 for a new periodic Year 1 event, Faction Rally. The competitive Iron Banner PvP mode from the original returned on October 10. The prestige mode for the Leviathan raid was originally scheduled to unlock on October 10, but was delayed to October 17.

The game's first expansion released on December 5, 2017. Named Curse of Osiris, it focused on the character Osiris from the lore of the original Destiny. The expansion took players to the planet Mercury with its own patrol mode. Additionally, the EXP level cap was raised to 25 and the Power level cap was raised to 330. There was also a timed-exclusive Crucible map for PS4 players called Wormhaven. Instead of an entirely new raid, a feature called raid lair was added, featuring new areas to the existing Leviathan raid and a different final boss. This first one was "Leviathan: Eater of Worlds". The second expansion, Warmind, was released on May 8, 2018, and focused on the Warmind Rasputin from the original game. This expansion took players to the planet Mars in a new area called Hellas Basin. The expansion also featured a new mode called "Escalation Protocol", a horde mode which could be started by any player in the patrol mode on Mars. As well, the EXP level cap was raised to 30 and the Power level cap was raised to 380. In addition to Rasputin, a new character named Ana Bray (also from the lore of the original Destiny) was added, who served as the primary NPC on Mars. Like the previous expansion, Warmind also included a second raid lair on the Leviathan called "Leviathan: Spire of Stars". The expansion also added progressive ranking systems for PvP, titled Valor and Glory. Players earned Valor in quickplay matches while Glory was earned in competitive matches, with each new rank earning greater rewards. Valor points were earned regardless of win or loss, while Glory points were earned by wins but reduced by losses. Both expansions featured timed-exclusive content for the PlayStation 4 platform, which became available for other platforms in late 2019. Both expansions and all of their content were removed from the game with the introduction of the Destiny Content Vault in November 2020.

End of live service support

On May 21, 2026, Bungie announced that the planned June 9 update, named as Monument of Triumph, would be the last live service content update for the game, after which, it would remain playable as with the original Destiny. The release includes gameplay updates that had been planned for the Shadow & Order update (which was renamed as Monument of Triumph), as well as new updates, such as new gear and armor systems for older dungeons and raids. These would also become available to use in all other existing content areas, and the update features the return of the Director menu to select activities. The announcement came after Sony took a US$765 million impairment loss on Bungie from its previous fiscal year, in particular due to poor performance of Marathon. Bungie stated that there were no immediate plans for a sequel at work, while Bloomberg News reported that development team layoffs were imminent. Sony announced these layoffs on June 25, 2026, laying off most of the Destiny team along with a portion of the Marathon team, as "necessary to align the studio's resources with its current priorities and long-term goals". In a post-development cycle reflection, the previously laid-off audio designer Nadia VanDriest recalled how they "all worked so hard to maintain the quality bar under unrealistic constraints".

Paul Tassi, a contributor to Forbes, reported that an anonymous source with knowledge of the situation attributed the game's struggles to two factors: ever-growing fan demand for content meant the game was only rarely profitable, and when it was profitable, those funds were often misused by Bungie's leadership. According to Tassi, before Bungie decided to end active development of the game, the studio had considered the possibility of a Destiny 3, but put more consideration into a relaunch of Destiny 2 under the title of Destiny Infinity due to production costs of making a full sequel. It was also reported that the developers had pitched the idea to return to their previous live service model of only doing one large expansion per year.

Reception

Destiny 2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Some reviewers labeled the game as Destiny 1.5 due to its many similarities to the original Destiny, but praise was given to improvements made over its predecessor.

As with the original, gameplay was highly praised, with Chris Carter of Destructoid saying that it was what "the game nails ... the most". Game Informer's Matt Miller said that like the original, "Gameplay features remarkably taut FPS gunplay enhanced with seemingly magical powers." Miller went on to say that the gameplay's biggest change was a welcome, referring to the reorganization of destinations and the emphasis on exploration. Evan Slead of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) also praised the exploration, but was not a fan of the recategorization of the weapons. Although he said the variety of weapons were fun, the Kinetic weapons "didn't seem to pack as much of a punch as their Energy [weapon] counterparts." Cody Perez of Game Revolution, however, welcomed the recategorized weapons, saying they were less restrictive and said that "Bungie are masters of gun-play". Kallie Plagge of GameSpot said that the game features mostly the same structure as the original, including its "mechanically excellent shooting and satisfying loot grind". Carter praised the Lost Sectors and public events, as well as the additional story quests and Adventures post-campaign. Miller said that the Lost Sectors were fun, but they became less interesting with the more that were done. Perez, however, was not a fan of the Adventures and Lost Sectors activities, saying they were a "disconnect [from] the main campaign". He said that they were filler content, and that they were "monotonous and a bore to accomplish, lacking the heart that fills the campaign." He did praise the public events as they are only periodic.

The Leviathan raid received praise and criticism. Miller of Game Informer stated that the Leviathan raid was "one of Bungie's most intricate and fascinating environments to date", praising its maze-like structure with hidden chests and secret passages. He was critical of the award system, however, stating that it "separates the excitement of new gear from the moment of victory", as it does not offer most loot until a full completion. Slead of EGM said that "the bread and butter of Destiny is still these post-campaign quests", also referring to Strikes and the weekly Nightfall activity. Perez of Game Revolution, who did not play any of the original game's raids, was a big fan of the Leviathan raid, stating that it exceeded its hype. Plagge of GameSpot said that "solving [the raid's] often obscure puzzles can be both rewarding and frustrating", but "each failure teaches you something new".

Sales

Destiny 2 sold 50,263 copies on PlayStation 4 within its first week on sale in Japan, which placed it at number one on the weekly sales charts. The weekend consisting of September 23, Destiny 2 took the number 1 spot on the UK sales chart. Destiny 2 was also the second highest-grossing console game of 2017 in North America (behind Call of Duty: WWII), and was also Activision's biggest PC release based on units sold. Digital downloads for Destiny 2 account for more than half of the total sales of the game.

Despite strong unit sales, the game failed to generate the recurring revenue that Activision wanted. As a result, Activision ended its publishing deal with Bungie in 2019. 2023 saw Bungie cut 8% of their staff due to a projected revenue miss of 45%.

Awards

For the 2017 Game Critics Awards, it was awarded Best PC Game for E3 2017. At The Game Awards 2017, Destiny 2 was one of four games to receive six nominations, the most for the year's event, which were for Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Audio Design, Best Ongoing Game, Best Action Game, and Best Multiplayer. Entertainment Weekly ranked Destiny 2 sixth on their list of the "Best Games of 2017", GamesRadar+ ranked it seventh on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017, and Eurogamer also ranked it seventh on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017", while Polygon ranked it 12th on their list of the 50 best games of 2017, and The Verge named it as one of their 15 Best Games of 2017. In Game Informer's Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, the game came in second place for "Best Co-op Multiplayer" and for "Best Shooter". The website also gave it the "Best Weaponry" and "Best Gunplay" in their 2017 Shooter of the Year Awards.

Destiny 2 was nominated for "Best PC Game" in both Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017 and IGN's Best of 2017 Awards, the latter of which also nominated it for "Game of the Year", "Best Xbox One Game", "Best Shooter", "Best Graphics", "Best Original Music", and "Best Multiplayer". The game won the award for "Best Co-op Game" in PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards, and received a nomination for "Game of the Year". It was also a runner-up each for "Best-Looking Game", "Best Multiplayer", and "Game of the Year" in Giant Bomb's 2017 Game of the Year Awards.