Destiny: Breakdown of Leaked Expansion Information
An image from inside Bungie headquarters for the Destiny franchise was leaked online (via Planet Destiny). The image reveals a great deal of information for future expansions and events that Bungie is planning for the franchise. I would like to provide a breakdown of the leaked information and what it could mean for the future of the franchise. Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed that a sequel for the first game is already in the works. That news makes me question the 10-year plan for Destiny. I assume the 10-year plan now includes multiple games and not only the first game as I originally thought.
Keep in mind that the leaked Bungie HQ image could be dated, and things are bound to change. However, the leaked image provides a rough layout of what players can expect from the franchise for the next year or so. Expansion No. 2 for Destiny, The House of Wolves, is expected to be released on March 10. The release date makes sense. The first expansion, The Dark Below, was released on December 9, about three months after the game’s launch. So, it appears the new expansions will be released for the game on a quarterly basis, every three months. The House of Wolves should include one new Raid, four new player-vs.-player maps, one new Strike and three new story missions. Apparently, the working title for the Raid for the new expansion is called “The Arena.” The House of Wolves will likely focus on the Awoken and the race’s ruler, the Queen of the Reef. My hope is that the expansion will reveal more about the Awoken and the race’s place in the Destiny universe.
In addition, there is a description for the new Strike mission for The House of Wolves Expansion, entitled Traitor’s Ketch. The description involves the Guardians breaching the Ketch in the Ocean of Storms to take down a Fallen Wolfship’s Devil Walker. Presumably, the Queen is calling for the help of the Guardians and the Tower with the threat of a Fallen uprising on the Reef. I’m curious to see whether the Queen’s adversarial brother, formerly known as The Crow, will be involved.
There is also information in the leak regarding a more expensive expansion called Comet: Plague of Darkness. Planet Destiny speculates that this expansion could cost as must as $60 and possibly include the previous two expansions three new “player builds” or Guardian subclasses. There is still an empty subclass place for all the Guardian characters. It will be interesting to see if there will actually be a new third subclass for the Titans, Warlocks and Hunters. That would be very exciting. I enjoy the subclass changes, and I would like to see the Guardians get a third option there.
The fourth downloadable expansion pack has something to do with the Vex. The working title for expansion four is Forge of Gods. It remains to be seen whether or not Bungie will address the major story criticisms against the game with these future expansions. Hopefully, all the burning questions the first part of the game presented along with all the vague storytelling elements will be addressed. If Bungie could do that, it would increase enthusiasm and interest in the franchise, along with future installments.
Destiny is currently available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The next expansion pack, The House of Wolves, is likely due out on March 10.