A new Destiny 2 expansion is upon us, building up its already expansive lore. If you lost track of all that’s happened across the series, we took up the daunting task of summarizing the story so far, just in time for the release of Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate.
The upcoming expansion is set to begin what is known as the Year of Prophecy, which is the eighth year of extended content for the game. This also includes the next expansion, Destiny 2: Renegades, set for a December 2025 release.
Eight years and counting. Factor in the original Destiny and its expansions, and you’ve got roughly 11 years of sprawling content to sink your teeth into. If you’re new to the series and looking to get up to speed on Destiny’s deep lore, it’s a lot to absorb. That’s where our summary comes in. Let’s dive in.
NOTICE: Spoilers ahead! If you’d prefer to experience Destiny’s lore firsthand, now’s your chance to hop in and start your journey. And when you do, don’t forget to check out G2A.COM for great deals on Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate and other standout Destiny 2 expansions.
How it all began
Destiny unfolds in the distant future. A mysterious celestial entity known as the Traveler appeared without warning, ushering in humanity’s Golden Age — an era of rapid evolution, prosperity, and interstellar travel.
But peace, as history shows, is rarely permanent. The Traveler had a cosmic adversary: the Darkness (no, not the one Tim Curry played, though that’d be legendary). When the Collapse struck, the Traveler sacrificed itself to shield humanity, releasing its life force to create Ghosts — companions to the Guardians, humanity’s resurrected champions. The fight isn’t over. It was time for retribution.
Destiny and its expansions
The original Destiny was all about humanity regaining its foothold across Earth and beyond—recovering lost colonies and pushing back against the Darkness and its alien armies: the Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Vex. The campaign culminated in the iconic Vault of Glass raid on Venus, where Guardians vanquished Atheon and disrupted the Vex’s twisted control over time and space.
But that was merely chapter one of a much larger saga.
The Dark Below plunged Guardians into the depths to confront the resurgent Hive and their godlike commander, Crota, Son of Oryx. House of Wolves shifted the battle to rebellious Fallen forces led by Skolas, backed by ruthless mercs called the Silent Fang. Then came The Taken King — Oryx himself returned, seeking vengeance for Crota’s death. His defeat brought a fleeting calm to the solar system, soon shattered by Rise of Iron, Destiny’s final expansion. In it, the Fallen unearthed SIVA, a self-replicating nanotech, forcing Guardians to eliminate the threat and take down the monstrous Archon, Aksis — securing peace and honoring the legacy of the Iron Lords.
The Red War – Enter Destiny 2
Arguably the most catastrophic chapter in Destiny’s timeline, The Red War saw Dominus Ghaul — the ruthless commander of the Cabal’s Red Legion — attempt to claim the Traveler’s power for himself. His assault stripped the Guardians of their Light, fracturing their ranks. Destiny 2 centered on their rise from defeat: regaining their powers, rallying allies, and ultimately bringing Ghaul’s campaign to an end.
But Ghaul’s downfall was no finale. His attack set in motion a chain of escalating threats — each part of a larger, looming conflict that the Guardians were only beginning to grasp…
The Light and Darkness Saga
This sweeping saga began with the original Destiny and evolved dramatically through Destiny 2 and its many expansions.
In Curse of Osiris, Guardians traveled to Mercury to investigate the disappearance of the legendary Warlock himself — Osiris. They discovered he was trapped in a simulated future where the Vex had rewritten reality in their favor. With Osiris freed and the Vex threat quelled, the stage was set for even darker forces.
Warmind brought the fight to Mars, where the reawakening of the enigmatic Warmind Rasputin unleashed an ancient Hive menace. Guardians faced off against Xol, Will of the Thousands, ending the Hive’s resurgence.
Forsaken kicked off Year 2 with a gut punch — fan-favorite Cayde-6 was murdered by Uldren Sov, a disgraced Awoken prince. Driven by vengeance, Guardians hunted him across the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, dismantled his alliance with the Scorn and the Taken, and delivered justice with a bullet.
In Year 3’s Shadowkeep, Guardians returned to the Moon to confront haunting nightmares linked to the Darkness. With Eris Morn’s guidance, they faced Crota’s return and ventured into the Scarlet Keep and Garden of Salvation — setting the stage for an approaching cosmic reckoning.
Year 4’s Beyond Light marked a turning point. On Europa, the Fallen Kell Eramis tried to wield the Darkness through Stasis. The Guardians embraced this power themselves, shattered Eramis’s empire, and pushed the narrative closer to the coming war.
The Witch Queen in Year 5 introduced Savathûn — sister of Oryx — who corrupted the Light to create Hive Guardians and threatened to imprison the Traveler in her throne world. With her defeat came another threat: Rhulk, a Disciple of the Witness, who also fell to the Guardians.
In Lightfall (Year 6), the Witness made its long-awaited move, backed by new Disciple Calus and the Shadow Legion. They launched an assault on Neomuna and sought control of the Veil to infiltrate the Traveler itself. Guardians defeated Calus and Nezarec, but not before the Witness breached the Traveler’s interior — reshaping reality in its image.
The Final Shape closed the saga in Year 7. With the help of the Traveler, Guardians confronted the Witness and its three Echoes in an epic final battle. Against impossible odds, they triumphed—resolving the long-standing clash between Light and Darkness and concluding one of gaming’s most ambitious narratives.
The Fate Saga
Victory has its price — and the end of the Light and Darkness saga left behind a dangerous vacuum. New threats are already clawing their way into the spotlight.
In Edge of Fate, Guardians are flung — via a 21st-century subway system — to Kepler, a mysterious planetoid tucked within the Oort Cloud. There, they’ll encounter a host of new forces and factions:
- The Nine — a pantheon of dark matter-based entities rooted in various celestial bodies across the solar system
- The Aionians — humanoid inhabitants of Kepler
- The Eliksni House of Exile — Kepler natives devoted to a cryptic being known as the Giver
- The Vex — resurfacing under the influence of the Nine
The next major chapter of Destiny 2’s evolving universe kicks off July 15, 2025. From The Edge of Fate, Ash & Iron will launch in September 2025 — followed by Renegades in December 2025.
With that, you’re officially up to speed — 11 years of Destiny’s universe-spanning saga. Destiny 2 and its major updates are free to play, and you can score deals on expansions through G2A.COM. Suit up. The stars are calling.