News Destiny 2 is going free-to-play, moving to Steam

[Night Hunter]

Destiny 2's next major expansion is called Shadowkeep, confirmed during the cinematic trailer debut during today's Google Stadia stream. But Bungie's own followup stream has plenty more to say about Shadowkeep, and the future of Destiny as a whole. Things are looking good after the breakup with Activision. 

Shadowkeep is out this fall and will send players back to the Moon to explore an horror-flavored alien citadel. Apparently the new zone will be twice as big as the Destiny 1 version.

The expansion also marks Destiny's move off Battlenet and onto Steam (sayonara, Activision!) and will introduce a free-to-play model that sees Bungie charging for standalone expansions, but giving all the year one content away gratis. The move will also introduce cross-saves for Xbox, Stadia, and yes, PS4 players as well. 

 

The base game will be rebranded as Destiny 2: New Light. The free version includes all of the year one missions, activities, and rewards. That will include Strikes (three-player co-op dungeons), player vs. player Crucible modes, and even the original Leviathan raids.

Shadowkeep is a standalone expansion. You won't need previous expansions to access Shadowkeep, which reinforces Bungie's plan to sell future updates as standalone releases that players can pick and choose from. The expansion will reconnect players with Eris Morn, which suggests the Hive will be heavily involved. They love the Moon.

The new raid will take place in the Black Garden. If you played Destiny 1, you know how important this very vex-y location is. 

Armour 2.0 is going to double-down on the stats. It appears as though players' gear will now incorporate more mod slots and you'll be able to slot in multiple types to create much more bespoke build. Bungie talked about how in the past it had shied away from the MMORPG label, but was now doubling down on depth and detail. 

[Updated] Cross-save is coming to Google Stadia, Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Bungie noted that cross-save was always planned for Destiny 2, but "reasons" (presumably Activision's exclusivity deal with Sony) prevented implementation. Now you'll be able to hop between platforms with one account to play with different friend groups.

There will be a renewed focus on PvP. Crucible players have been complaining about a lack of updates for some time, and though Bungie didn't go to many specifics, it did talk about beloved game types from the past returning. 

Exclusives are no more, according to Bungie. All weapons, armor, maps, and activities will be available across all platforms.

The jump to Steam is happening when Shadowkeep releases, and should expose Destiny to a much larger audience. It sounds like it won't be difficult for Battle.net players to make the transition, either. Bungie says "current PC players will be able to bring all of their progress and purchases with them, including their Guardians, their vaults, and all of their progress—at no cost. We will have full details on how this migration will work later this summer on Bungie.net" 

You can watch the vidoc going into these details and more below.

 

 

Source https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-is-going-free-to-play-on-steam-shadowkeep-expansion-detailed/