The next stage of Destiny's epic, multi-year saga kicked off today with Season of Arrivals. Prior to this, Bungie held a live stream detailing its plans for the game over the next three years, beginning with the "Beyond Light" expansion on September 22. This expansion is the first of a three-year expansion trilogy that will tell the story of the Guardian and the climactic battle of darkness. Each of these major expansions will add new destinations to the game.

"Beyond Light takes you to Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter. Europa is the birthplace of the ExoMachine and the location of the Deep Stone Crypt. In Europa, you will meet Elamis, leader of the Fallen Empire. She has learned to harness the power that comes directly from the pyramid ships. [To defeat her, you must also harness that power, and for the first time since Destiny 1 was released six years ago, the Guardian gains an entirely new damage type called stasis. Not just a super or a new grenade, but an actual new damage type in space."

The addition of stasis, a new damage type tied to darkness, should be a big change. So far, Guardians have been accustomed to wielding Arc, Solar, and Void (and, in the case of primary firearms, Kinetic); it remains to be seen how Stasis will work in the sandbox, but diversity in Guardian supers and abilities, and the overall weapon pool could be added.

According to director Luke Smith, more details on Stasis will be revealed later this year. From the short clip released today, it appears that "Stasis" will freeze and shatter enemies.

There's more; Noseworthy gave us some insight into what we can expect beyond the fall expansion." The following year, a villain emerges from the shadows in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen." It will likely be Oryx's sister Savatoon, a master of subterfuge who has long operated from the shadows in Destiny's lore.

Beyond that, 2022 will see the release of Destiny 2: Lightfall, a climactic showdown between light and dark.

"Together, these three titles are like ushering in a new era for Destiny," says Norsworthy. And we think of these three titles as an extended version of a trilogy that together tell a larger, overarching story arc."

We learned much today about the future of Destiny. In detail, we have an overview of the Season of Arrival, Mark Noseworthy's deep insights into the game's direction, and the temporary return of activities and locations to Destiny Content as other locations and activities from Destiny 1 return. Please see the news that they will be retreated to the "Vault". This will be controversial, but after being away from Destiny 2 in 2020, all of this has made me interested in the game again.

Before the livestream began, Bungie released a 9-minute statement honoring the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd and presenting viewers with helpful and relevant resources. For more information, see our post on the Black Lives Matter protests.