Today's Bungie livestream introduced Shadowkeep, the new Destiny 2 DLC expansion coming this fall. A lot of new content and changes are coming alongside the expansion, from a new raid to a brand new story centering around Eris Morn. One of the fancy new features that Bungie announced today is dubbed New Light. New Light will allow players to create a new guardian and test out parts of the Destiny experience without having to buy all the component pieces.

First Light essentially turns a large part of Destiny 2 free-to-play. Players will start the New Light experience by waking up in the Cosmodrome just like in Destiny. Players will play through the starting mission and then zip off to the Tower. From the Tower, players will be able to go into Strikes, Crucible, Gambit, and travel to the various destinations - even the new destination coming in Shadowkeep. Players will unlock destinations over time as they play First Light through completing planetary activities. Players will be able to play through the Destiny 2 Year One campaign content, including Curse of Osiris and Warmind, and from there players can decide what parts of the Year Two and Year Three content they want to purchase.

This new model serves as a great entry point for players who are on the fence about Destiny 2 as it allows them to quickly get up to the recommended power level for Shadowkeep, and it does not force players to play or purchase all the older content. Players will be able to access the Tangled Shore, Dreaming City, and the Moon without purchasing their respective DLC packs. New Light will be available on all platforms, including Destiny 2 on Google Stadia. Major content like Exotic Quests, Dungeons, and the Year Two and Year Three raids will be locked behind their respective DLCs. The Leviathan raid, however, will be available with New Light.

While some fans speculated that Destiny 2 may go free-to-play for some time now, it's certainly surprising that they has made such a bold shift following Bungie's separation from Activision. However, this new model is very familiar to players of many MMO's, and Bungie is finally leaning into the MMO title. Hopefully this model will mean more frequent content as more players get to try out the game.

Destiny 2: New Light launches September 17 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One alongside the Shadowkeep expansion.

Source: Bungie