Destiny in 2016 Will Have Smaller Event-Based Updates Rather Than DLC Expansions

What’s the future look like for Destiny in 2016? It’s a question that’s been on the minds of hardcore players likely since The Taken King launched, or soon thereafter. That’s not to say that what Bungie has provided in the way of weekly events, content updates, and secret quests hasn’t been satisfying, but every MMO or MMO-like experience is built on its major expansions. And for Destiny Year 2, it doesn’t appear as if expansions are in the cards.

While the assumption had always been that Destiny would be built around a yearly release and two major DLC expansions, those notions were put to rest this past week. In an interview at PSX, Senior Designer Derek Carroll confirmed that Destiny Year 2 would be focused on live events instead of “monolithic DLC packs,” seemingly putting to rest rumors of a Cabal-themed DLC pack or a Vex follow-up.

It was Carroll’s quote that eventually sent the Destiny fan base reeling, concerned that their favorite game would soon suffer a major content gap. Sure, the Sparrow Racing League was a fun announcement, but something like that pales in comparison to a new raid or new story missions.

Luckily, as is typically the case, Bungie took to their Weekly Update to address those concerns. More importantly, the developer finally gave gamers a better idea as to the road map for Destiny Year 2 in 2016. Mind you, the road map is fairly loose at this point, but at the very least we know some substantial additions are coming.

While Bungie wasn’t willing to play all their cards just yet, they did tease two “events” for early 2016. The first, they say, will be similar to the Festival of the Lost, the Halloween-themed event that saw players collecting masks and doing the Thriller dance.

Then, Bungie will be adding an experience that’s “larger than anything you’ve seen since the release of The Taken King.” Considering the time it takes to craft endgame experiences, we would be surprised if that experience is a new raid (although we hope!), but it sounds as if Destiny will be getting a boost in the story content department. Could be the addition is the Cabal-themed content we have heard rumors about, or it could be something completely different. Here’s the full quote:

There’s a whiteboard in one of our meeting rooms filled with scribblings and sticky notes that represent the developments planned for Destiny’s not-so-distant future. Events, activities, content, and features designed to keep you happy, entertained, and rewarded throughout the year to come: some events and some activities that will become additions to your Director.

The first of these early 2016 experiences will be on a scale close to Festival of the Lost. The second will be far larger than anything you’ve seen since the release of The Taken King. There’s also another significant update to the world and sandbox planned in this same window.

It’s true that we’ve updated the playbook based on what we’ve learned to date, and to better tap into what makes Destiny unique. Last year, we all waited five months and ten days between content drops after December. This year, the plan is to deliver new experiences at a faster clip. To that end, the updates described above are all currently slated to hit across Winter and Spring of 2016, with more to come, as well.

Regardless of what Destiny adds, the good news is that any additional content will be completely free to Taken King owners. As stated previously, Bungie’s new initiative is to fund new content releases by way of microtransaction purchases (emotes, Sparrow add-ons, Festival of the Lost masks, etc.) rather than charge players a couple times throughout the year. If nothing else, that ensures all players are working with the same content, and it also keeps the cost of keeping up with Destiny lower.

So, there is a plan in place, and it does include at least one large add-on. Hopefully once Bungie gets back from their holiday break, fans will start to learn more about those plans for 2016.

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