Skip to main content

Shadowkeep expansion leak takes Destiny 2 players back to the moon

Destiny 2 Shadowkeep expansion leak
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Diligent data miners have unearthed some news out of Bungie’s space epic ahead of a livestream that the company planned for this week. ResetEra user Starset shared that Destiny 2 has an upcoming expansion called Shadowkeep and takes the loot shooter experience to the moon, an area featured prominently in the first Destiny. There’s always a chance the leaked data could be outdated material that has changed shape over time, so treat this as a rumor.

The promotion artwork that was uncovered by the data miner shows off a red fortress of some kind on the surface of the moon with Earth in the background. It says players will “become a slayer of nightmares” as they journey into an enemy citadel to face shadows that descend upon the moon. Per usual, there will be a physical collector’s edition for the expansion and it should include a new annual pass.

Recommended Videos

Bungie teased the reveal of Shadowkeep for June 6 at 10 a.m. PT. While the name and synopsis may be public knowledge, there’s still a lot to learn about this upcoming expansion. What will this new space on the moon look like? What enemy will players face and what new weapons will they use to face them? Will there be new player-versus-player experiences included with the Shadowkeep?

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Shadowkeep is an additionally notable release because it marks the first major update since Bungie parted ways with game publishing giant Activision. Eyes will be on this next Destiny 2 expansion to see if they are any major differences with how Bungie proceeds without Activision as part of the equation but it is more likely that Shadowkeep will feel like business as usual.

Destiny 2 Shadowkeep expansion leak
The playable moon area in the original Destiny. Image used with permission by copyright holder

The joint statement about the split happened in January and it’s likely Destiny 2: Shadowkeep was already well into development by that point. The expansion is likely launching in fall 2019 and should debut alongside a new annual pass. The bigger shift to look out for will come with the expansion that follows, the content teased with the next annual pass, and the rollout to Destiny 3 or whatever else Bungie has planned.

The current annual pass includes the base game, the Curse of Osiris, Warmind, and Forsaken expansions, and will wrap up in August with a new season of Destiny 2 content throughout the summer.

Charles Singletary Jr.
I'm a Birmingham, AL raised author, journalist, and gaming enthusiast currently residing in San Antonio, TX. My work has…
The Finals Season 2 offers up plenty of reasons for players to come back
A The Finals Season 2 skin.

The Finals made a big splash when it launched at The Game Awards 2023, and it has maintained a healthy player base in the months since. Tomorrow, The Finals Season 2 begins and it brings new weapons and gadgets, another battle pass, a new map, and the Power Shift mode with it. Although I dropped from off playing The Finals a few weeks after its release, my early taste of Season 2’s new content was more than enticing enough to draw me back in.
New season, new content
As expected, The Finals Season 2 offers up another 96-level battle pass for players to make their way through. This season is themed around a hacker group called CNS and all things digital, so many of the cosmetics are inspired by that faction and video games like Street Fighter and Minecraft. During a presentation prior to Digital Trends’ Season 2 playtest, Embark Studios confirmed it does not plan to change the battle pass’ pricing, nor put any new gameplay-related content behind a paywall.

THE FINALS | Season 2 | March 14

Read more
Bungie plots Destiny 2: The Final Shape overhaul in wake of mass layoffs
Guardians stand together in Destiny 2: The Final Shape key art.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has broken its silence after laying off around 100 staff members earlier this week. The studio posted a blog update that acknowledged the move and teased a major change in plans for Destiny 2's next big DLC, The Final Shape.

On Monday, October 30, Bungie laid off a sizable chunk of its staff in departments including community, QA, audio, and more. According to a report from IGN, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons cited Destiny 2's declining performance in 2023 as a cause. A report from Bloomberg noted that Bungie's upcoming projects were internally delayed as part of the move, with The Final Shape quietly moving to June 2024.

Read more
Destiny 2 studio Bungie hit by layoffs, internal game delays
A runner runs in Marathon.

Amid a wave of layoffs at Destiny developer and Sony subsidiary Bungie this week, Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Marathon have both reportedly been delayed.
On Monday morning, tweets from developers revealed that Bungie, which was acquired by Sony in January 2022, was suffering layoffs. This was followed up by a report from Bloomberg that went into more detail about the layoffs and their impact on Bungie's future games. Sony and Bungie have not officially commented on the delays yet, although the Bloomberg article mentions that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons will hold a team meeting later today to discuss the layoffs further. This all follows contractor layoffs at Sony studio Naughty Dog earlier this month, which happened as that studio struggles to develop and release a The Last of Us multiplayer game. 

Bloomberg suggests that these layoffs, like others at Sony this year, are tied to internal game delays. While Destiny 2: The Final Shape is publicly slated to come out in February 2024, Bungie reportedly told staff that it's now going to come out in June 2024. Meanwhile, we learned that Bungie's revival of Marathon was apparently targeting a 2024 launch -- although no release window was given officially -- but will now come out sometime in 2025. These delays make the PlayStation 5's 2024 game lineup look pretty sparse right now outside of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it suggests that Destiny 2's next season will be one of its longest.
As of now, Sony and Bungie have not publicly commented on the layoffs or delays, but we will update this post when they do say more about it.

Read more