Bungie announces new Destiny 2 release model with two ‘medium’ expansions a year

Bungie has marked Destiny’s 10th anniversary by announcing that going forward, Destiny 2 will adopt a new release model.

Instead of one large annual expansion, the developer will aim to release two medium-sized expansions and four major free content updates every year, it said.

Each of these will depart from the “one-shot” campaign structure Bungie has been using since Shadowkeep, and each will be an opportunity “to explore exciting new formats instead”.

According to the developer, this change aims “to enhance the player experience through a new multi-year saga, introducing a non-linear story, more systemic innovation, and significant improvements to core game activities and rewards”.

The new model will start in the summer of 2025 with the release of Codename Apollo, a “nonlinear character-driven adventure” and the first of the new expansion model.

“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,” explains narrative director Alison Lührs in a new blog post.

“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.”

According to Lührs, Destiny 2’s upcoming episodes will act as an epilogue, “tying up Light and Dark’s hanging threads… but also setting us up for what’s next”.

“The Episodes close doors and open new ones, purposeful ones, storylines that are set in place to prepare us for what comes next,” they said.

“You’ll see teases of it in the later two Episodes, and then fully kick off with Codename: Apollo. This next saga is also based around a core theme, much like Light and Darkness did. It will introduce plenty of new characters, factions, twists, and more.

“There’s a lot more here we will say eventually, but we don’t want to spoil the journey for you. This will be a multiyear journey, one we can’t wait to take you on.”

In addition to the future release model, Bungie says it’s changing how seasons work, and attempting to make Destiny more accessible by modernizing its activity UI, and reworking activity rewards.