The much-anticipated annual expansion for Destiny 2 is on its way. While Beyond Light will try to capture the old charm of the series, Bungie reveals details about what sort of performance and features fans can expect when they play the newest iteration of the game on the next generation of console hardware.
Beyond Light is the beginning of Destiny 2's next-generation journey. Earlier in the year, the expansion was announced to have been delayed. Luckily for Bungie, the new release date put the expansion inside the new console launch window, and the team recognized this opportunity to improve the game for the new hardware.
Every platform will support 60 fps, increased field of view, faster load times and 4K resolution, except for the less-powerful Xbox Series S that will be limited to 1080p. However, Destiny 2 will not immediately be upgraded and ready to played on the new consoles. The new and improved edition of the game will launch on December 8. Bungie has said that the team needs a little more time ironing out the kinks to ensure the steadiest performance possible.
The sliver lining is that some features will be available before December, and on older systems. Features such as cross-generation play and reduced loading times will be available starting November 10. This is great news for existing users who will be playing the new content on launch day, as inventory and planetary load times have suffered greatly on Xbox and PlayStation systems. Meanwhile, cross-generation play will allow PS4 players to connect with PS5 players and for Xbox One players to connect with Xbox Series X and S players.
Early last month, Bungie made a significant change to how the Destiny API is handled, which increases item transfer speeds via third party apps up to 10 times. While the game will take less time to load and display inventory quicker, some loading times are dependent on network connections. This is why matchmaking may still take time in Destiny 2, even after all the updates have been released. Even so, cross-generation play and the ability to upgrade for free should help maintain larger playerbases on each console family.
Destiny 2 will also get a long-awaited customization feature that is rarely seen on console games. For the first time ever, the field of view slider will be available on consoles too, mimicking the experience on PC. Destiny 1 was held back by the PS3 and Xbox 360, with them eventually being dropped after Rise of Iron. It seems Bungie won't follow a similar route this generation, instead optimizing for old hardware and upgrading for new devices. The studio will release further details in the coming weeks.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light releases November 10, 2020 for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. It releases on PS5 November 12.
Source: Bungie