Destiny 2's Season 13 is coming in an end on May 11. The Season of the Chosen brought new stories, weapons, and gear to Bungie's sci-fi looter-shooter, yet while Destiny 2's Season 14 is less than two weeks away, very little information about it has been released.
However, a recent leak from the official Destiny 2 site may have revealed the name of the new Season, Season of the Splicer. While this isn't much to go on, the leak does seem legitimate. Splicers in Destiny 2 are the scientists of the Fallen Houses, and their reappearance could have some interesting consequences for the game's plot.
What Are Splicers?
In the simplest terms, Splicers are a roughly-affiliated group of scientists within the Fallen Houses. In most of the Houses, the Splicers are in charge of the augmentation of the House's members, which like all Fallen are members of the insectoid Eliksni race. Splicers employ cybernetics, bio-engineering, and body hacking to enhance the evolution of their species.
In addition to this everyday function, Splicers are called upon whenever a House needs to deal with a major scientific or technological problem. For example, Skolas of the House of Wolves used Splicers from both the Wolves and Winter houses in Destiny 1's House of Wolves DLC. The Splicers were able to hack the Vex technology in the Vault of Glass, and later pull the House of Wolves forward in time. Splicers returned in an even larger role in Destiny 1's final DLC, Rise of Iron.
The Rise of Iron DLC
The Rise of Iron DLC was the last Destiny story arc to feature Splicers in a major way. In it, a group called the Devil Splicers sought to transcend their mortal forms through the use of SIVA, a nanotechnology from the Golden Age of Humanity. The Devil Splicers, who were a sect within the House of Devils, discovered SIVA in the Cosmodrome of Old Russia.
While the more traditional members of the House of Devils were content to worship SIVA's power, the Devil Splicers were more ambitious. They began combining themselves with SIVA, seeking immortality by giving up their flesh. As SIVA took control of their bodies, they began spreading it throughout the House of Devils. Recognizing the growing threat, the Guardian Lord Saladin Forge issued a call to all of Destiny's Guardians to try and put an end to the SIVA crisis.
Could SIVA Return?
SIVA was originally created by legendary Destiny lore scientist Clovis Bray, as a self-assembling, self-replicating nanotechnology to aid with humanity's colonization efforts. However, SIVA was later used by the Warmind Rasputin to attack the Iron Lords Guardian organization. The surviving Iron Lords sealed SIVA away, along with their corrupted members, and it was there that the Fallen House of Devils found in during the Rise of Iron story arc.
While the conclusion of the Rise of Iron DLC put an end to the threat of SIVA, it's not impossible for the corrupting nanotech to return in the future. Destiny fans have been asking for an expansion of the SIVA plot for some time, and it would make sense to once again have Splicers feature heavily in that plot. All of the Fallen houses take their obsession with technology to the level of a religious fervor, a result of their Golden Age under the protection of the Traveler.
The Season of the Splicer could be a perfect opportunity for Bungie to return Destiny 2's story to one of its most iconic enemies, the Fallen, as well as one of its most popular threats, SIVA. While the leak has still not been confirmed, Destiny fans can expect to hear some official news soon.
Destiny 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.