Bungie details what's next for Destiny 2 after The Final Shape, launches Episode Echoes

Though the latest expansion for Destiny 2 has just launched, Bungie is hinting at what is coming next for the game in the wake of The Final Shape. The first step is the game's first post-release content addition, "Episode Echoes." The studio also hinted at what might be coming in 2025.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape is the headline addition to the game for 2024, and possibly the most consequential expansion for Destiny as a franchise since its launch. Its story details the end of what Bungie calls "The Saga of Light and Darkness," the overarching plotline that drove the vast majority of story events in both Destiny and Destiny 2. In a short presentation, Bungie outlined the general shape of the first three "Episodes" set to launch in the wake of The Final Shape. A yearly cadence of three Episodes, each with new story developments, activities, and loot, will replace Destiny 2's now-former four-season yearly release pattern.

The first Destiny 2 episode is "Episode Echoes," and follows immediately after the conclusion of The Final Shape's main story campaign and raid. Guardians have defeated The Witness, the architect of the collapse and the biggest villain in the Destiny universe, and are dealing with the aftermath. Something called "The Echo" has emerged in the wake of The Witness' defeat, and it seems to be affecting the Vex, a faction of time-traveling robotic lifeforms that seek to reshape the universe in their image. The events also center around Saint-14, a legendary Titan and one of the Vex's greatest foes.

Bungie uploaded a launch trailer for Episode Echoes that previews some of the game's new gear and events and gives a look at a mysterious Vex foe, one that looks more humanoid than robotic.

The Episodes to follow Echoes are called "Episode Revenant" and "Episode Heresy." Revenant will involve the Fallen and the Scorn, and be inspired by dark fantasy and horror fiction, with gear and visuals that take cues from concept of monster- and vampire-hunting. Finally, Episode Heresy will signal major shakeups for the Hive, a race that was once the embodiment of The Witness' will (before the Witness themself showed up, at least). It'll also return players to The Dreadnaught, the throne world of Oryx, who was the big villain of Destiny: The Taken King, one of the series' most beloved expansions.

Finally, 2025 will see what Bungie calls "Codename Frontiers." Beyond the codename, Bungie didn't elaborate on what that could mean. Frontiers could be a new expansion for Destiny 2, or some other major change that takes players further beyond the saga that powered the original story and on to new adventures, perhaps ones outside the Solar System entirely.