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As I stared at the end of The Final Shape, my mind couldn’t help but wonder, “What now?” We defeated the big baddie and had some well-deserved fan service, and after years, it finally felt like this game had some closure. In a way, it made me feel whole but also a little empty. Would this be it? Are updates going to slow down now? Well, Bungie just appeased my doubts because the 10-year anniversary of Destiny 2 came with the reveal of not one but two expansions, Apollo and Behemoth, coming next year. Add to that many free updates and a new take on storytelling, and let me tell you, I couldn’t be happier about what’s coming.
Destiny 2 Is Moving to a Two Expansions Per Year Model
Let’s address the Hive Knight in the room first. Destiny 2 will now launch two expansions per year, starting with Apollo and Behemoth, as announced alongside the anniversary celebration. The first will launch sometime during the Summer of 2025, while the latter will arrive in the Winter of 2025. This means that content will come flooding even faster to Destiny 2. Furthermore, we’ll enjoy four major updates full of free content throughout the year, so content drought is looking more like an alien expression now.
With two new expansions comes a bit of a downsize per se. Instead of having one large expansion, such as The Final Shape, Destiny 2 will focus on medium-sized expansions now, hence the decision to do two per year. I dig this, frankly. Live service games always suffer from stale periods, but with how fast-paced the game is, I’d rather have more content in small doses instead of waiting for a big one and just dropping the game for a few months while I wait. Yet, we’ll have to see how packed these expansions are. But if recent content has shown anything, it is that Destiny 2 has just started to show its big guns.
A New Approach to Storytelling
The one announcement I wasn’t expecting during Destiny 2‘s anniversary was the experimental storytelling the studio is aiming for. According to Tyson Green, the game’s director, Apollo will take a non-linear approach to its design.
Previously, in stories like The Final Shape, you experienced the story as A to B to C to D in a nice straight line. In Codename: Apollo, our story takes place over dozens of threads you’ll explore and discover. So, when you land on our brand new location, the story starts at A, and then you can choose if you want to explore C first, or try and get into B, or maybe investigate D.
I’m all for a linear and hand-holding journey, but the fact that we will choose how we approach the story sounds extremely intriguing. For a new beginning type of story arc, which Destiny 2 will surely have, Apollo and Behemoth’s non-linear model fits perfectly. After all, aren’t we all exploring this vast galaxy?
Yet, the experimentation doesn’t end there. In the official post, Green also mentioned this:
We are actively prototyping non-linear campaigns, exploration experiences similar to the Dreaming City or Metroidvanias, and even more unusual formats like roguelikes or survival shooters. Each expansion will present a new opportunity to try something different.
Roguelike and survival shooter are things I never thought of placing together with Destiny 2, but it sounds like something that would fit the game perfectly. We’ll still have to wait for the execution, but again, Destiny 2 has been on a winning streak lately, so I’m up for Bungie experimenting with whatever they want.
And Thus Begins the Wait for Apollo
The Final Shape has given me hours of joy, and the 10-year anniversary of Destiny 2 will surely hook me back. However, all the new things coming to this decade-old game are unbelievable. When certain studios slow down after finishing a huge story arc, Destiny 2 is doing the opposite with Apollo and Behemoth. It’s really embracing that feeling of discovery that grabbed me initially in Destiny 2, and I’m all for that. In addition to that, there are many rewards, including Strikes, new Exotics, new game modes like Onslaught, and more features, and the game’s future has never looked brighter. Sadly, now’s time for the worst part: waiting, but we at least have a release window, so that will keep me going.
