Destiny 2 announces major delays for Year 4 expansion ‘Beyond Light’

Bungie has confirmed the next Destiny 2 expansion, Beyond Light, has been delayed nearly two months due to “difficulties of development.” The franchise’s highly-anticipated ‘Year 4’ expansion was originally set for a September 22 release date.

The Destiny 2 developers confirmed the news in a Bungie.net blog post on July 16. The devs explained the last-minute date which was “best for the game,” after they realized the original date was a “big ask” in the current climate.

“As always, our goal is to make the coolest, most entertaining expansion we can possibly make for our fans. To that end, we are doing what’s best for the game and moving the launch date,” Destiny community manager David Dague said.

“The past few months have been a challenge. We’ve learned to create together in a new way, by having to work apart from one another. Despite these hurdles, we’re still committed to the same level of quality that our fans expect.”

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Destiny insiders have also suggested there’s been a fair few problems with Beyond Light. Those issues have, in part, come from a new damage type being added to the series. New Statis abilities and balance decisions have also played a part.

The first major expansion of the “new era of Destiny” ⁠— a moniker Bungie slapped on the 2020 release after promising “huge changes” for their flagship franchise — is now penciled in to officially begin on Tuesday, November 10.

The swap also means Destiny 2’s current season, Season of Arrivals, will be sticking around for a little bit longer. Bungie has promised to reveal more information on the additional two months of content “over the coming weeks.”

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When Guardians do finally get to step into Destiny 2’s fourth year with Beyond Light, they’ll be thrown straight into a mysterious war with the Darkness. The Stranger, Eris Morn, and the Drifter look like they’ll be coming along for the ride too.

Beyond Light is the first of a new trilogy of Destiny expansions, which Bungie revealed earlier this year. It will call on players to “brave the unrelenting glacial fortress [of Europa], infiltrate a Golden Age Braytech facility, and uncover the secrets that lie deep under the ancient ice.”

• Read more: Destiny 2: Beyond Light — Everything you need to know

There’s not a lot that we know gameplay-wise about Beyond Light, however. There have been a few suggestions Bungie could finally add proper World of Warcraft factions to the franchise, but that’s far from confirmed at this stage.

Many are hoping Beyond Light will see Bungie finally flexing their post-Activision muscles in their sci-fi world. The publishing deal, which former composer Marty O’Donnell admitted was “bad from the start,” ended early last year.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light will now be available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on Tuesday, November 10. The year four expansion will also be available on next-gen consoles once they launch these holidays.