Destiny 2 Beta & Gameplay Dates Revealed by Bungie

Like a leaky ship finally docking at shore, Destiny 2 was officially revealed today.  All of the rumors that had been reported for the last couple of weeks turned out to be true.  Pre-order details for numerous editions that include multiple expansions, a PC version of the game, and release date for the game have been revealed.  Even the story rumors and fact that Destiny players would lose all of their old loot and characters was confirmed were confirmed in today’s video reveal of Destiny 2.

What we didn’t see was any gameplay.  While it’s almost a certainty that what we should expect from Destiny 2 is more of Destiny 1 with improved visual fidelity and hopefully a better story, there’s no telling what Bungie is going to reveal as we inch towards the September release date.

Bungie has laid out a roadmap of when they’ll be giving players a look at Destiny 2, and that date is May 18th.  That’ll be the first spot where they’ll livestream gameplay of Destiny 2.  You can bank on a playable version at E3 2017, and then we’ll get a beta for Destiny 2 in the summer of this year.  Right now the only way into the beta is through pre-ordering the game, which went live at multiple retailers following the release of the trailer.

So what else can we expect from Destiny 2?  Rumors over the past few years about the game suggest that the world of Destiny 2 will be more lively than the original, including “play-in destinations” with populated towns and quests.  On a recent earnings call, Activision themselves addressed the elephant in the room when it comes to Destiny’s story.  Eric Hirshberg said that the story of the sequel has seen Bungie putting a lot more effort into the story of the game, making it a focal point in the development process that will include a great cast of memorable characters.

There’s no doubt that today’s trailer has got a lot of Destiny players excited for more information, but hold tight, Guardian.  The next stop of Bungie’s roadmap is a little over a month and half away on May 18th when they reveal gameplay for Destiny 2.  Next stop, Beta Town.  As for the release date of the Destiny 2 Beta, no concrete information has been provided by Bungie other than summer.  However, if it follows a similar path to the previous game you might expect two betas to arrive with one being a private beta and the other for the general public.  The first Destiny beta launched in July and hit the PlayStation consoles first.  Later that same month, Bungie opened the beta from just PlayStation owners to everyone.

However, since the pre-ordering any of the Destiny versions seemingly grants you beta access, we’ll have to wait and see if Activision has worked out any new PlayStation exclusivity deals for the game. Heading to the Destiny 2 site, the fine print reveals that pre-ordering does give you access to the beta, but “platform availability and launch dates” are TBD.