Bungie has announced that Destiny 2 expansion is moved to the last quarter of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for the developers to end on time.
The Destiny 2 expansion “Beyond Light” is originally scheduled to arrive on September 22. However, the pandemic affected major industries and disrupted game development schedules.
The game is set to arrive on November 10 instead. But, due to the pandemic, it might be even pushed back further. It all depends on the progress of the developers.
COVID-19 as the biggest hurdle
The Destiny Development Team released a statement regarding the delay.
“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,” the developers said.
The statement added, “the past few months have been a challenge and will continue to be during this pandemic. 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.”
Destiny 2 expansion delay may cause trouble in-game
The announcement of Beyond Light caused hype in the Destiny 2 community. A lot of people are excited to play the game.
Nearly two months before the release, it is now pushed back to a further date.
The delay means that the current season will have to extend by up to 50 days. It is still unsure if the 50 days are exact or it will be extended.
A week or two of the delays is fine. But having a full month or two of delays is definitely bad news. The current season may lose its charm by then.
Playerbase might decline for a while as they try to find something to meddle with. However, the new season will surely lure them back.
Moving the release to December might be a better option
November this year will see a lot of big titles coming. Cyberpunk 2077 is arriving. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla also drops in the same month. There are upcoming titles set to arrive in November with no exact yet.
To simply put, November is a crowded month for gamers. An expansion might not be enough to clash head-on with these big titles.
Opting for a December release eases that pressure. It is also the holiday season. This means that a lot of gamers will have the purchasing power to acquire the expansion upon release.
The player base may also be on a holiday break. Thus, there is a lot more time to crunch and grind Beyond Light.
Season 13 will be pushed back as well
The two-month delay of season 12 already created a ripple effect in the Destiny 2 timeline. Season 13 comes after Beyond Light and is supposed to arrive by December.
However, it is not a viable option considering the situation that Destiny 2 is in right now.
Pushing through with a Season 13 release by December means that Beyond Light is just a month-long season. Players would definitely want that.
Bungie can opt to skip another season this year. It can end the year with Beyond Light and start a new timeline by 2021. This gives them more freedom to reassess what needs to be released.
The developers have not released any statement regarding the next seasons yet. Hopefully, they already planned something that is best for them and the players.
Delaying the Destiny 2 expansion, Beyond Light is unexpected. But it is better than having a half-baked game created by overworked developers.
Images (1) (2) (3) used courtesy of Destiny 2/Bungie