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'Destiny 2’ is now free-to-play, including its year-one expansion
Big changes are coming to Destiny 2. With today's announcement of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, developer Bungie has a new way to deliver content to its players. When the major expansion lands on on September 17th, the core game will go free-to-play, shifting to "expansion-level, standalone content" for Destiny veterans.
Bungie is making 'Destiny 2' raid races more competitive
Destiny 2's World First raid races are supposed to provide glory and rewards to anyone with a sufficiently committed fireteam, but that's not how it works in practice -- and Bungie wants to level the playing field. When the shared-world shooter's Season of Opulence kicks off June 4th, it'll introduce a Contest mode that should give more players a shot at finishing the matching Crown of Sorrow raid before others. Bungie will effectively minimize the advantages of those hardcore players who can afford to spend many hours building their characters up before the assault even begins.
LA museum's sci-fi car exhibit includes HoloLens tours
There's a chance you've seen a movie car or two if you've visited a convention, but the Petersen Automotive Museum's offering should be more... elaborate. It's opening a "Hollywood Dream Machines" exhibit that will showcase 40 vehicles from sci-fi games and movies. Some of them are practically expected, like the DeLorean from Back to the Future, Deckard's sedan from Blade Runner and a lightcycle from Tron: Legacy. Others, however, are harder-to-see items like the GM Ultralight from Demolition Man as well as Lexuses from Black Panther and Minority Report. And how many times are you going to see life-size recreations of a Warthog from Halo or a Sparrow from Destiny?
The first 'Destiny 2' spring event begins April 16th
Bungie hinted at its first spring-themed Destiny 2 event in its year two roadmap, and now you'll know exactly what that entails. The Revelry kicks off April 16th with a slew of activities that not so subtly remind you that the weather is warming up. The extravaganza revives the Haunted Forest from the fall's Festival of the Lost, but this time with a decidedly more cheery landscape (it's called the Verdant Forest for a reason) and "new twists." And instead of masks or The Dawning's recipes, you'll get a Reveler's Tonic that provides buffs when you fill it with an "essence" earned by killing Verdant Forest bosses or completing other tasks.
The next season of 'Destiny 2' kicks off March 5th with a Gambit focus
Bungie is ready to debut the first season of Destiny 2 since the studio announced its split with Activision, and it's not a major break with convention -- though it might give you a reason to come back, even if you haven't played for a while. The Season of the Drifter is beginning March 5th with a focus on both the mysterious figure's signature Gambit mode as well as his background, particularly his connection to the enigmatic Nine that have persisted since the original Destiny.
Bungie will self-publish 'Destiny' in split with Activision
Bungie is about to take greater control of Destiny's... well, destiny. The studio has reached a deal with Activision that will hand over the publishing rights to the shared-world shooter franchise. According to the company, it's "ready" to publish on its own after getting Activision's help over the past eight years. The handover is still in the "early stages," Bungie said, but the aim is to make it "as seamless as possible."
'Destiny 2' for PC is free until November 18th
Bungie and Activision aren't going to stop at handing out free copies of Destiny 2 to console gamers. Right in time for the launch of BlizzCon, they're making the base PC version of the shared-world shooter available for free from now through November 18th. You'll need to enable SMS-based two-factor authentication if you're brand new to Battle.net, but you're otherwise good to go. Just remember that this is the base game, not Forsaken -- you'll still need to pay to stay current, which is no doubt what Bungie is hoping for.
'Destiny 2: Forsaken' purchases now include earlier add-ons
Destiny 2: Forsaken is a significant improvement to a game that had a rough start, but it also had a rude surprise for newcomers: it didn't include the two expansions from the original game, making you pay twice just to catch up with people who had been there since the beginning. That won't be an issue for long. As of October 16th, Bungie is including the two paid DLCs from the first year (Curse of Osiris and Warmind) with purchases of Forsaken. The developer wants to "make it less complicated" for players to jump in, according to community lead Cozmo.
PlayStation Plus members can get 'Destiny 2' for free right now
September is shaping up to be a bumper month for PlayStation Plus members, as they can get their hands on Destiny 2 for free. It's the type of big-name recent release that Sony doesn't often include in its monthly PS Plus giveaways, and while most of the games in the latest batch will be available from September 4th, you can grab Destiny 2 as a freebie right now.
After Math: Stay cool
It's been a sweltering week with much of the country swaddled in a record-setting heat wave but that hasn't slowed the tech industry. Netflix is reportedly considering a new HDR-enabled pricing tier for its service, a pair of people were awarded $5 million in their lawsuit against the Fyre Festival, NASA debuted a new heat shield to keep its sun-bound probe from burning up, and Facebook is in talks to host a reality show starring the hottest man on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo.
'Destiny 2' brings back rewards for lifetime achievements
If you stuck with the original Destiny right up until the launch of its sequel, you're probably familiar with Moments of Triumph -- an event that rewarded you for lifetime achievements with exclusive items that included access to a real shirt if you were truly accomplished. Thankfully, Bungie isn't waiting that long this time around. The studio has already launched the first batch of Moments of Triumph for Destiny 2, including a roadmap for the perks you can expect at each milestone.
'Destiny 2' lives on with 'Forsaken' this September
Destiny 2 is facing its Taken King moment: it's starting its second year with doubts about its future and players looking for a major rethink of the game mechanics. Thankfully, that appears to be on the way. Bungie has revealed Forsaken, a year two expansion for D2 that promises both a lot more content and significant changes to how the game works. It returns to the Reef (last seen in the original game), where the barons trapped in the Prison of Elders have managed to escape. It promises to be an engaging, lawless frontier with unique challenges , but it's arguably just the start of the Forsaken changes.
China's NetEase invests $100 million in Bungie to make new games
Bungie, the studio behind hits like Halo, Myth and Destiny, has announced a new deal with Chinese online gaming company NetEase to "build new worlds and invite players, new and old, to join us there." In China NetEase publishes several Blizzard games like Overwatch, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft, among other titles. GamesIndustry reports that NetEase is making a $100 million investment in Bungie that will snag it a minority stake in the developer, but that apparently won't impact Bungie's agreement with Activision, and any decision to bring Destiny to China is still Activision's.
'Destiny 2' puzzle leads to a real-world reward
Bungie is well-known for including cryptic references in its games, but it's not often those references lead to real-world gains. A massive team of gamers investigating an area in Destiny 2's new Warmind expansion decoded an elaborate cipher puzzle that, in the end, produced a message with geographical coordinates in upstate New York (conveniently, near the home of Warmind developer Vicarious Visions). That, in turn, led to a very tangible prize that included not only coins (one for each person who visits), but a life-size replica of the Valkyrie weapon from the game -- the only example you'll find outside of Bungie and Vicarious Visions.
Bungie to release the full 'Destiny' soundtrack, three years late
Music of the Spheres, the much-lauded music from Destiny, will finally be released officially to the public "in the near future," said developer Bungie. The soundtrack, written by acclaimed composer Marty O'Donnell, actually leaked out last year thanks to the work of passionate fans. It was taken down just yesterday by Activision/Bungie, however, as O'Donnell himself noted on Twitter.
'Destiny 2' Warmind add-on puts a horde event on arctic Mars
Bungie had teased that the second DLC for its sci-fi shooter Destiny 2, named Warmind after the game's humanity-defending mega-AI, would come out May 8th. In a livestream today, the company finally released details. In addition to a brand-new area in Helles Basin, Mars, players get a new public event and tweaks to almost every exotic in the game, plus a slew of other changes.
Second 'Destiny 2' expansion, 'Warmind,' lands May 8th
Bungie promised two Destiny 2 expansions in the MMO-like shooter's first year, and we now know when that second add-on will arrive. Warmind is slated to arrive on May 8th, with more details arriving in a Twitch stream on April 24th. There's virtually nothing else to share about the DLC, but the title speaks volumes: it's clearly going to focus on the interplanetary AI systems (such as Rasputin and Charlemagne) humanity counted on for defense in its glory days.
Bungie pushes back 'Destiny 2' feature upgrades
If you were looking forward to Bungie tackling the laundry list of Destiny 2 issues in short order, you'll have to be be a little more patient. The studio has delayed the implementation of a handful of features that were slated to arrive between now and May. Most notably, a sought-after revamp of the equipment mod system won't make it for May. Don't like the seemingly endless wave of redundant or ineffective add-ons? You'll have to wait a while longer.
'Destiny 2' update will boost rewards for its most loyal players
Bungie is still learning lessons about rewarding Destiny 2 players for their commitment, and that's reflected in its January 30th update. To begin with, it's promising much better loot for raids. You're now guaranteed raid-only equipment when you complete an encounter, and you'll always have a chance of scoring exotic gear you can start using right away. Those who go on Prestige raids get normal drops at the same time. Also, you can buy gear if you'd rather not grind the raid hoping to get that last armor piece you need -- so long as you've completed the raid that week, you can buy hardware from a rotating selection at Benedict. When you throw raid-specific mod perks and a drop-enhancing Ghost into the mix, you might be more inclined to come back to the raid without feeling like you have to repeat it ad nauseam.
Buried ‘Destiny’ soundtrack ‘Music of the Spheres’ leaks
An epic game deserves an epic soundtrack, and Music of the Spheres, an eight-part musical work by Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori and Paul McCartney (yes, of Beatles fame), was exactly that, designed to complement Bungie's ambitious Destiny. But, thanks to quarrels with publisher Activision and various other legal battles, it was never released. Now, nearly five years later, it's been leaked and can be enjoyed by fans of Destiny and sweeping soundscapes alike. Until Activision bursts in with copyright law, that is.
