Destiny 2 Season of Dawn: An Early Look

Season of Dawn is nearly here, and everyone at Bungie is excited to share this next chapter of the ongoing Destiny story with the world. I’m fortunate to work with tons of passionate and creative people — a few of whom you saw on our Season announcement live stream this week who shared a bunch of awesome info (and this action-packed trailer). Today, I’m here to share a few new looks of what you can expect to see this season.

Our story picks up where the last Season ended. Tomorrow, we’ll join Guardians all over the world as we travel through time in an attempt to rescue the legendary hero, Saint-14.

The story in Season of Dawn is told through new quests, bounties, and a six-player encounter we’re calling The Sundial. In that encounter, the Cabal are attempting to change the events of the Red War by rewriting history. We’ll enter the fractured timeline and stop them before they succeed.

A new Season of Dawn Artifact is ready to be powered up. As you level your Artifact throughout the Season, you’ll unlock new mods that you can slot into brand new weapons and armor to customize the way you play.

At Bungie, when we talk about the game we want Destiny 2 to be, we’re having conversations about exploring a living world that changes with every Season. We want there to be a through line that connects each of us to a unique moment in time with hopefully less Cabal meddling. It also gives way to new adventures on the horizon.

The Sundial’s conceptual origin was: “What would Osiris do with his vast knowledge of Vex technology?” “How would he repurpose it?” It’s taking that knowledge from the Vex, smelting the technology down, and repurposing it to create a machine that can manipulate time. One that he built through countless simulations, but now it exists in reality. Our reference material covered a multitude of things including astrolabes, typewriters, ancient cartography, compasses, and of course, sundials.

Bringing Saint back was something that we have always wanted to do. And luckily, since we’re able to play with time, we had a unique opportunity to give you a peek into an earlier moment before he was the legend we all know.

Rusted lands has been a team favorite for some time. This map was our primary test bed for PVP and it was the one where we honed in PVP as a whole within the studio. It has been exciting to bring it back to both new and old Destiny players.

This image illustrates the players being pulled through time within The Sundial. Conceptually we wanted to take fragments of The Sundial itself and stretch, tear, and warp them throughout the experience to show the echoes of its existence throughout the space between realities.

From the very beginning, we explored themes, conflicts, and moods that would connect the Seasons. This early work guided many of our design decisions and I’m always glad for the opportunity to share some of the more iconic elements that end up in the game.

Thanks for stopping by and taking an early look at Season of Dawn. See you in the Tower tomorrow.