Destiny 2 will be free-to-play and on Steam with next expansion in September

Image Credit: Bungie

Destiny 2 is getting a free-to-play version, and it’s shifting over to Steam, Bungie announced alongside the revelation of a new expansion (and cross-save functionality, to boot).

That expansion is called Shadowkeep and is set on the moon, featuring Eris Morn (from the original Destiny) and a mysterious citadel full of nightmares from the past, the latter of which represents the return of other major characters from the franchise.

Shadowkeep will be out on September 17, and at the same time, Steam will become the home of Destiny 2 on PC, rather than Battle.net, with an easy and cost-free migration process promised.

Bungie noted: “Current PC players will be able to bring all of their progress and purchases with them. Their Guardians, their vaults, and all of their progress will make the move with just a few quick steps.”

This move isn’t surprising, given that Bungie split from Activision at the start of 2019.

New Light

The expansion will be standalone – so you won’t need to have purchased any previous content to access it – and the base game will be called Destiny 2: New Light, becoming free-to-play (also on September 17).

That free version will contain all year one missions and content, and the likes of co-op dungeons and PvP Crucible modes.

Bungie also announced that Destiny 2 will have cross-save functionality across all platforms – PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Google Stadia – syncing your progress across these, and allowing you to play on your account from whichever device you like. There will also no longer be any exclusive content tied to one particular platform.

Another promise is that Destiny 2 is going to be more focused on MMO aspects, and will flesh out that side of the game more, including the addition of more mod slots and better customization options for the player’s gear.

That’s a lot of good news to potentially help keep players interested in the online shooter, which has had something of an up-and-down rollercoaster ride since it was first launched.

Via PC Gamer

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).