When Did Destiny 2 Come Out? Full Release Date Timeline
Ask when Destiny 2 came out and you'll get at least three answers back, depending on whether someone means console, PC, or the free-to-play relaunch. Pick the wrong one and you end up confused about which expansions still exist and which ones were deleted years ago. Here's every date that matters, from launch day in 2017 through the final update in June 2026.
When did Destiny 2 come out?
Destiny 2 came out on September 6, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The PC version followed seven weeks later on October 24, 2017, sold exclusively through Blizzard's Battle.net launcher at the time.
The console date was originally Friday, September 8. Bungie and Activision moved it forward two days to a Wednesday, which gave the team more runway to stabilise things before launch weekend, historically the point where concurrent player counts peak.
Destiny launch
Why PC players waited until October
Destiny 1 never came to PC at all, so the PC version was treated as a separate launch with its own beta rather than a same-day port. The console open beta ran July 21 to July 23, 2017, with pre-order early access from July 18. The PC beta followed in late August, which is roughly where the seven-week gap came from.
That Battle.net exclusivity lasted just under two years and ended with the move to Steam.
Every Destiny 2 platform release date
PlayStation 4, Xbox One: September 6, 2017. The original launch.
PC (Battle.net): October 24, 2017. Delisted from Battle.net in 2019.
Steam: October 1, 2019. PC accounts were migrated across from Battle.net.
Google Stadia: November 19, 2019. Ended with Stadia's shutdown on January 18, 2023.
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S: December 8, 2020. Next-gen builds, released separately from Beyond Light.
Epic Games Store: August 23, 2022. The same build as the Steam version.
A common error in release-date roundups is listing the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S version as launching alongside Beyond Light in November 2020. Beyond Light did arrive on November 10, but the next-gen builds came almost a month later on December 8.
When Destiny 2 went free to play
Three separate things happened on October 1, 2019: the Shadowkeep expansion launched, the game arrived on Steam, and the base game relaunched as free-to-play under the name New Light. No other single date changed this much at once.
That date followed Bungie's split from Activision on January 10, 2019, which gave Bungie full publishing control. Battle.net was retired as part of the move, and PC accounts were migrated to Steam.
Since then, the "base game" has been free on every platform. Only expansions, dungeon keys, and cosmetic packs cost money.
New Light
Every Destiny 2 expansion in release order
Ten expansions shipped over eight years:
Curse of Osiris: December 5, 2017 (Year 1)
Warmind: May 8, 2018 (Year 1)
Forsaken: September 4, 2018 (Year 2)
Shadowkeep: October 1, 2019 (Year 3)
Beyond Light: November 10, 2020 (Year 4)
The Witch Queen: February 22, 2022 (Year 5)
Lightfall: February 28, 2023 (Year 6)
The Final Shape: June 4, 2024 (Year 7)
The Edge of Fate: July 15, 2025 (Year 8)
Renegades: December 2, 2025 (Year 8)
Two of those dates moved. The Witch Queen slipped roughly three months into 2022 because of pandemic-related development delays, which pushed Lightfall out of its original 2022 window and into February 2023. The Final Shape was announced for February 27, 2024, then delayed to June 4, 2024, with the free Into the Light update filling the four-month gap.
Year 8 broke the one-expansion-per-year pattern. Bungie shipped two smaller expansions instead, five months apart, with free major updates between them.
How Destiny 2 counts its years
Guides and loot databases constantly reference "Year 3 armor" or "a Year 1 exotic," and the numbering is not calendar-based. Bungie defines a Year as the span from one release to the next expansion, so year lengths vary wildly.
Year 1: September 2017 to September 2018
Year 2: September 2018 to October 2019
Year 3: October 2019 to November 2020
Year 4: November 2020 to February 2022 (15 months, the longest)
Year 5: February 2022 to February 2023
Year 6: February 2023 to June 2024
Year 7: June 2024 to July 2025
Year 8: July 2025 onward
Year 4 ran 15 months because The Witch Queen was delayed, which is why that year absorbed four seasons plus the 30th Anniversary Pack instead of the usual four.
The launch content you can't play anymore
This is the part release-date articles usually skip. The game that came out on September 6, 2017 is not available to play in any form.
The original campaign, called the Red War, was removed on November 10, 2020 when Beyond Light launched. Curse of Osiris and Warmind went with it, along with the destinations Mercury, Mars, Io, and Titan. The Forsaken campaign followed into the vault in February 2022 when The Witch Queen arrived, though the Forsaken Pack kept the Last Wish raid and the Shattered Throne dungeon in the game.
Bungie calls this the Destiny Content Vault. Its stated purpose was cycling destinations and activities out each year to make room for new ones and to keep the game quicker to update, not storage savings alone. In August 2022 Bungie announced that expansions would stop being vaulted, so everything from The Witch Queen onward is still here. Seasonal content still cycles out.
So if you install Destiny 2 today, you start with the New Light tutorial and Shaw Han on the Cosmodrome, not the Red Legion invading the Last City. The 2017 campaign that launch reviews were written about survives only in video archives.
Content vault
When Destiny 2 stopped getting new content
Bungie announced on May 21, 2026 that active development on Destiny 2 was ending. The final content update, Monument of Triumph, shipped as Update 9.7.0 on June 9, 2026.
It was a substantial send-off rather than a shutdown notice. The update brought Sparrow Racing League back, added a second Pantheon run, refreshed raid and dungeon loot with tiered gear, rebuilt the Director as the main navigation hub, and added Legendary Marks for buying legacy rewards.
Two planned Year 9 expansions, Shattered Cycle and The Alchemist, were cancelled. The mid-season Shadow & Order update, originally scheduled for March 3, 2026, was folded into Monument of Triumph instead.
Servers stay online. Bungie has said it may still ship hotfixes for stability, and it has: patch 9.7.0.3 went out on July 7, 2026. The Destiny 2 API and Companion App also keep running.
Four recurring seasonal events were retired outright: Guardian Games, Solstice, Festival of the Lost, and The Dawning. Their rewards moved to the permanent Monument of Guardian Tenets vendor, with some armor sets shifting to Eververse for Bright Dust.
Can you still play Destiny 2 in 2026?
Yes, and more of it is free than most people expect. We've cross-checked this against Bungie's current player guide lists what's included at no cost:
The New Light questline and all four subclasses including Stasis
The Shadowkeep and Beyond Light campaigns in full
Every destination, patrol, public event, and Lost Sector
Crucible and Gambit, excluding Trials of Osiris
Three raids: Vault of Glass, King's Fall, and Crota's End
The Prophecy dungeon and Dares of Eternity
Paid content is now sold as a single bundle called Destiny 2: The Collection, covering The Witch Queen, Lightfall, The Final Shape, The Edge of Fate, and Renegades, plus the Forsaken, Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, and 30th Anniversary packs and all nine dungeon keys.
PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers got a shortcut on June 9, 2026, when the Destiny 2: Legacy Collection joined the catalog. That bundle covers everything through The Final Shape but not the two Year 8 expansions, which are sold separately.
Playing today
Key Takeaways
Destiny 2 came out September 6, 2017 on PS4 and Xbox One, and October 24, 2017 on PC.
The game went free-to-play as New Light on October 1, 2019, the same day it hit Steam.
Ten expansions released between December 2017 and December 2025, ending with Renegades.
The original 2017 campaign was vaulted on November 10, 2020 and cannot be played.
Active development ended June 9, 2026 with the Monument of Triumph update, but servers remain online.
New players can access a large amount of content for free, with remaining expansions bundled as The Collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Destiny 2 come out?
Destiny 2 came out on September 6, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The PC version arrived on October 24, 2017 through Battle.net. It was originally scheduled for September 8 before Bungie moved the console date forward.
How old is Destiny 2?
Destiny 2 is eight years old and turns nine on September 6, 2026. It received continuous content updates for eight years and nine months, from September 2017 until June 2026.
When did Destiny 2 become free to play?
October 1, 2019. The free version is called New Light and it launched alongside the Shadowkeep expansion and the game's move to Steam. Expansions and dungeon keys are still sold separately.
Is Destiny 2 shutting down?
No. Bungie ended active development on June 9, 2026, but servers remain online and the game is fully playable. Bungie has said it may still release hotfixes for stability, and shipped one in July 2026.
What was the last Destiny 2 expansion?
Renegades, released December 2, 2025. It was the tenth and final expansion, following The Edge of Fate from July 2025. Two further expansions, Shattered Cycle and The Alchemist, were cancelled.
What was the final Destiny 2 update?
Monument of Triumph, also known as Update 9.7.0, released June 9, 2026. It added Sparrow Racing League, a second Pantheon run, refreshed raid and dungeon loot, and a rebuilt Director. It remains in the game permanently.
How many expansions does Destiny 2 have?
Ten. Curse of Osiris, Warmind, Forsaken, Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, The Witch Queen, Lightfall, The Final Shape, The Edge of Fate, and Renegades. The campaigns for the first three were vaulted and can no longer be played.
Can you still play the original Destiny 2 campaign?
No. The Red War campaign was moved into the Destiny Content Vault on November 10, 2020 alongside Curse of Osiris and Warmind, and Forsaken's campaign followed in February 2022. New players begin with the New Light questline instead.
When did Destiny 2 come out on Steam?
October 1, 2019. Existing Battle.net accounts were migrated to Steam at no cost, and Battle.net stopped supporting Destiny 2 logins in December 2020.
Is Destiny 2 free on PlayStation Plus?
The base game is free for everyone regardless of subscription. Since June 9, 2026, PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers also get the Destiny 2: Legacy Collection, which covers expansions through The Final Shape.
When did Destiny 1 come out?
September 9, 2014, on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It never released on PC. Its final update shipped in March 2017, roughly six months before Destiny 2 launched.