Destiny 2 Lightfall: Release Date, Trailers, Story & Everything We Know

The Destiny 2 Lightfall expansion is something that fans of the franchise have been chomping at the bit for. After the official Destiny 2 showcase on August 23rd, we got a bunch of new and exciting information about this highly anticipated update to the game. Below, we'll detail the Destiny 2 Lightfall release date, any accompanying trailers, and much more so you can be as informed as possible before Lightfall drops.

• A lot of changes are coming, to learn more check out our Destiny 2 Cloudstriders guide.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Release Date

The Destiny 2 Lightfall release date has been a hotly argued topic for some time now. After initially being delayed to add more polish, and the knock-on effect from The Witch Queen also getting delayed, we now have the official Lightfall release date.

Destiny 2 Lightfall will release on February 28 2023. This is a very similar release window to that of The Witch Queen which launched almost a year earlier, potentially setting the precedent that any new major Destiny 2 expansion will have that February release window.

• Guardian Ranks are a new system coming soon. To learn more, check out Destiny 2 Guardian Ranks explained.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Trailers

As previously stated, the latest Destiny 2 showcase brought with it some pretty jaw-dropping information for the future of the game. Accompanying that was also a hefty trailer detailing the first look at your newest destination and a franchise-first planet aesthetic.

We got another early look at the Destiny 2 Neomuna in the Neomuna Environment Trailer on January 17th. This trailer gave us a greater sense of the scope of the region, as well as some of the environments we will be exploring throughout.

Now for the most important part, the stuff. With this Destiny 2 Weapons and Gear trailer, we got our first details of the new equipment coming with Lightfall. It includes new exotic weapons with interesting abilities, exotic armour to go with our new Strand subclasses, and the confirmation of Strand as a weapon damage type.

At the PlayStation State of Play on 23 February, the launch trailer for the game was revealed, giving players one last look at Lightfall before the expansion launches.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Story

Destiny 2's story has grown from what felt like an afterthought to becoming one of gaming's best. With Lightfall, Destiny 2 delves deeper into the darkness, allowing you to wield yet another darkness subclass - Strand, as well as meeting some enemies that Guardians have been eager to topple for years - The Witness and Calus.

The latter is back after his appearance in Season of the Haunted, and he's now in command of a Shadow Legion. That includes a new enemy type, Tormentors, which Bungie promises will be a challenge. They could be tougher than Hive Guardians, even.

Lightfall also takes you to a whole new planet - Neptune, previously shrouded from all. This means that all of the futuristic-looking buildings are intact, something that Guardians have yet to experience. Couple this with a potential new ally in the Cloudstriders, and you've got yourself a whole new twist on the Destiny universe.

We expect that you'll come up against The Witness and Calus (actually in the flesh) but it's still unclear as to whether the Guardians will succeed in their efforts to save the Traveller. With the name 'Lightfall', we could end up with the first story beat where the Darkness wins, expelling the Traveller from existence.

Destiny 2 Lightfall New Features

Once Lightfall arrives, all players will gain access to Destiny 2's new loadouts system. You can find out what's included in our full Destiny 2 Lightfall loadouts guide.

New Guardian Ranks will also highlight your in-game achievements, and also help new players to gain confidence to tackle tougher activities.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Economy Changes & New Content

Bungie has begun to reveal a series of updates coming to Destiny 2 via its pre-Lightfall blog posts.

The developer is adding a full loadout system, and overhauling the Champion System to encourage more loadout variation. Mods themselves are being tweaked, too, with Bungie giving away a load of them while making Artifact Mods passive.

Blue drops are being removed, too, although they're not going quietly -- Bungie has dropped a hotfix to remove them, but there have been issues.

Zavala will be offering weapon focusing in Season 20 (arriving alongside Destiny 2: Lightfall), with the following weapons able to be focused, along with Adept variations:

• The Militia’s Birthright 
• Mindbender’s Ambition 
• Wendigo GL-3 
• Hung Jury SR-4 
• The Swarm 
• Buzzard

Legacy focusing will be available for Vanguard, Gambit, Crucible, and Iron Banner content, too, with a reduced cost if you already have the weapon or armour you want.

Finally, Ada-1 will start selling Shaders, with three available per week for 10,000 Glimmer.

We'll know more about Lightfall as we get closer to the expansion's release date so come back to this article for more and more updates as that window gets closer. In the meantime, we have info on many of the new features coming to the game with Lightfall, such as Destiny 2 Lightfall loadouts.