New Destiny 2 expansions will probably never be as big as Forsaken, says director Luke Smith

Destiny 2 Beyond Light
(Image credit: Bungie)

Destiny 2: Beyond Light is smaller than the Forsaken expansion of Year 2, and according to director Luke Smith, we likely won't see another expansion as big as Forsaken.

Speaking on a recent Twitch Gaming stream following the Beyond Light launch trailer, Smith answered a question about "how big" the upcoming expansion will be. 

"I'm just gonna be really candid here: it's not as big as Forsaken," he said. "We are one team working from home. But I also think it's strictly larger than Shadowkeep last year. Europa is brand new, we built brand new subclasses with Stasis, we've got a bunch of new toys for players to find and play with. It's definitely bigger than Shadowkeep, and it's unlikely that the Bungie team will deliver something on the scope of Forsaken again with our budget and our timelines." 

Smith stressed that Forsaken – which had a long campaign spread across the Tangled Shore and Dreaming City destinations, added activities like Last Wish and Blind Well, and introduced sweeping weapon and sandbox changes – was only possible because Bungie was supported by partner studios on Activision's network. With the studio now operating independently, it doesn't have the resources to prepare expansions of this size while maintaining its seasonal output, which Bungie seems to be pushing even harder in Year 4, starting with the Season of the Hunt. 

Nevertheless, Beyond Light will still be the second-biggest expansion in Destiny 2's history, and with new Stasis subclasses, a cryptic raid, some 12 Exotics, and a new destination on Europa, it certainly looks like a whopper of an update. 

Check out the Destiny 2: Beyond Light roadmap for a closer look at what's coming in the Season of the Hunt. 

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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