Destiny 2 Release Date,Features,Gameplay,News, and Updates

Despite having initially been announced for September 8, Destiny 2’s release date for the consoles has been pushed ahead by a couple of days. Xbox One and PS4 owners will now be able to get their hands on the game on September 6, 2017. If you are one such PC gamer who has been upset by Bungie’s (often) year-long delays in rolling out PC versions, you can breathe easy. Destiny 2 PC version is now slated for an October 24 release date. Here’s a quick look at the facts as they stand now.

Destiny 2 Release Date

• PC: October 24, 2017
• Xbox One/ PS4: September 6, 2017

Destiny 2 Beta: An Entire New World Awaits

If you were at the May Livestream event (or like us, poured over every bit of text or video that ever came out of it), then you already know that Destiny 2 aims to be bigger and badder than the first title. Bungie and Activision even let folks get their hands on bits of PC gameplay, which gave way to some glowing feedback over the next few days. So obviously, the next big thing to look forward to for attendees and absentees alike is the Destiny 2 Beta.

With the first cinematic trailer reveal, Bungie had already told us that there would be beta early access for those who pre-order the game. Now they have finally let the cat out of the bag with all the information (well, almost) we need about the Destiny 2 Beta. Here we go.

For those who have pre-ordered Destiny 2 for the PS4 and the Xbox One will get access to the awesome new beta on July 18 and July 19 respectively. If you did not pre-order the game, July 21 will be the day when the Destiny 2 Beta will go all-access, and all of it will finally come to a conclusion on July 23.

[Note: The beta is already underway for console gamers. For information on PC beta, see the section below]. 

The Destiny 2 PC Beta still does not have a date, but the devs have promised a late August window for that one. Oh, well, not too long of a wait. As for the content, we can expect, we hope it marks an improvement on what has been made available on the consoles. While the current beta content gives players a good experience overall, it is not nearly as big as fans had expected.

Bungie is yet to name a proper date for the Destiny 2 PC beta, we hope they stick to the window they have suggested.

Destiny 2 Trailer and Teaser

Like we said earlier, there was no questioning the fact that Destiny 2 was happening. In fact, several weeks before beginning to tease the game, Activision had made it clear during their earnings call that Destiny 2 was happening. But for some reason, the creators decided it would be fun to lengthen the tease. First came a tweet from the official Destiny handle, and then came a brand new teaser trailer starring Cayde-6. Needless to say, we loved the teaser video not just because of Cayde-6’s retelling of his glory days, but because it was a clear hint at a remarkable improvement in the art of storytelling- something that the original Destiny had lacked. If there was one thing that Destiny fans had found off-putting, it was the lack of a solid narrative. Not that it lacked the basic elements that could make it work, but from the story point of view, it didn’t quite feel like it was all well brought together. The fact that the new game wanted to take the story forward rather than creating a new one also felt promising.

That Bungie had carefully considered fan feedback and was taking the story aspect seriously was made further evident in the cinematic reveal that followed. The new one wasn’t just a call for action for all the Guardians but scored high with long time fans because of some much-needed humor injection. You can see all the characters that mattered in the first game (alongside Cayde-6, whose pep talk was gradually taking a disastrous turn until there was the all-important talk about loot), along with the new enemy. This time, the Guardians were all coming together to battle the formidable new leader of the Red Legion, whose name is “…something with a G!” (Ghaul, it is). Watch the Destiny 2 trailer below.

And here is the Destiny 2 launch trailer from Gamescom 2017.

Destiny 2 Gameplay

Expect the gameplay of Destiny 2 to be akin to that of Destiny, but much larger in scale and definitely more sophisticated. On the basics front, Destiny 2 gameplay will be much like its online-exclusive FPS predecessor, but with some notable new tweaks. Not only will this result in a more satisfactory player experience for first timers and PC gamers, but also for Destiny veterans. Here are a few things that you can expect from the gameplay of Destiny 2.

Better Matchmaking: One of the best improvements has been on the front that players weary of the last game’s matchmaking system are bound to take notice of. Destiny’s matchmaking system had a mind of its own and did not offer much in the way of the player’s choices. The new game, however, will take a more open approach. With the new “Guided Games” option, players will now be matched with suitable others to ensure more variety and choice.

Changes in Multiplayer Options: Destiny was mostly praised for the way the multiplayer was conducted. While Destiny 2 is in every possible way a follow up to the original, some notable changes in the modes have been made. Significant upgrades have been made to the Crucible, which earlier used to support varied numbers, will now only come with 4v4 across all of its modes. A brand new mode, called the Countdown, has also been added. This will have players scrambling against another team to plant a bomb in the opponent’s camp and keep the other team from discovering it.

New Destinations: The co-op Strike missions will take the player to several newly developed worlds, each massive in their own rights. The worlds that have been confirmed so far and have the players battle it out with the environment are Titan and Io (the moons of the planets Saturn and Jupiter, respectively), and the planet Nessus. The European Dead Zone that was referenced in the original Destiny is also present in Destiny 2. The creators have assured that the maps in the new game will be at least double the size of those from the first game.

Missions aside, there will be a renewed focus on exploration. This means that the player can make the most out of the world they are in, interact with numerous NPCs, and partake in Adventures- the side-quests in Destiny 2.

New Subclasses and Weapons: Not only are the three main Destiny 2 classes getting new subclasses (such as Dawnblade for Warlocks, Sentinels for Titans, Arcstrider for Hunters), each will also have their own unique, and varied, Supers as well as abilities. For instance, Extensive tweaks have also been made to the weapons systems in the new game. The weapons divisions in the original game were simply known as Primary, Special, and Heavy. In Destiny 2, however, your arms will be re-categorized as Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons. The creators say that the changes were made to give the player more choices as to what kind of damage they wish to yield, as well as sling the ones that they love. To be more specific about these weapons classes, the new classes somewhat correspond to the ones from the 2014 title. So while the weapons that were categorized as Primary in Destiny will now fall under Kinetic, while the Special weapons will go under Energy. The matter of elemental damage will the factor to differentiate between the two. However, expect there to be some overlapping in the process.

Destiny 2 PC

Bungie is paying extra attention to the Destiny 2 PC version, and that also stands as the reason why the PC beta is yet to be rolled out while all the others have already been done with. But the May Livestream event revealed a few things about what PC players should expect from the upcoming game.

Video Courtesy: Digital Foundry (via Eurogamer)

At the event, the game was running at a fantastic 60 frames per second, and that is said to be improved when the game finally releases. At the same time, those who went hands-on with the game in May have had very good things to say about the way it handles. It appears that the final PC release will be nothing short of extraordinary on that front.

However, there have been some controversial revelations about Destiny 2 PC version too. Bungie’s Mark Noseworthy told Finder in June about some rather unflattering changes. This he what he had to say about the possible tweaks on weapons recoil in PC: “Ultimately, we have one design for the game. And so, if you’re playing the Raid on PC or you’re playing it on PlayStation [4], it’s the same Raid. It’s the same experience. And we’re going to try and keep them as similar as possible because hopefully, we want this to be the best experience. We may look in a few places where weapons need to be handled differently, and we’ll treat them slightly differently.

For instance, there’s no recoil on guns on PC because recoil on the controller feels really good. ‘I’m firing, I’m firing, I’m firing, oh, I’m losing control of my gun a little bit.’ That feels great, especially with magnetism and all the magic in the controller that makes you feel it. With a mouse and keyboard, you don’t want the mouse moving without you moving it, so recoil doesn’t feel good, so there is no recoil on PC.” However, he later clarified that weapons recoil will still exist in PC, although in a heavily modified form.

Destiny 2 for PC will also be offered exclusively through Blizzard’s Battle.net and is the first non-Blizzard title to be announced for the same.

Wrap Up

At the moment, information about the PC beta is still on hold, so fans still have a lot to learn about Bungie’s game to come, especially about what is cooking on the PC front. But from the previews that have made their way out until now, things look good for the sequel. Stay with us as we report back on any updates surrounding Destiny 2, and while you’re still here, you can take a look at our Call of Duty: WW2 roundup.