Destiny’s second expansion, House of Wolves, will be released on May 19, Activision confirmed today with an official trailer.
This date falls in line with the publisher’s announced second-quarter 2015 release window and provides confirmation for a February leak by famed Destiny hacker, “megamanexe4”.
Why Should I Care?
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the game’s next expansion since the release of the first expansion, The Dark Below, back in December. Bungie has stated that they do not plan on repeating the mistakes of The Dark Below, hoping to find new ways for players to upgrade their exotics without resetting their weapon progress.
Furthermore, the studio wants to avoid invalidating hard-earned raid gear by selling more powerful gear on day one; what Bungie will do instead to negate this issue remains to be seen.
The Dark Below received generally negative reviews, with critics and players alike lamenting the lack of original content, minimal story development, and a hefty price tag. Fans of Destiny are hoping that the lengthy development time and opportunity to receive feedback from the player-base will allow Bungie to vastly improve the experience in House of Wolves.
In particular, the fan base is eager for an expansion on the game’s lore, specifically regarding the Awoken and Fallen races (two of the game’s most notable factions). This new content would be as good a time as any for Bungie to finally make due on their broken promise of “rich, cinematic storytelling.”
What Will I Get?
According to Bungie, the expansion will contain “new story missions, three new competitive multiplayer maps, and a new cooperative strike.”
House of Wolves will also introduce a new competitive elimination mode in the Crucible and an all-new “arena” activity. Noticeably absent is the mention of a Raid activity, unique content that the game has become known for.
Whether this is a simple omission or a sign that the expansion will not come with a raid has yet to be determined. Bungie also did not confirm whether the expansion will include the Reef as a long-rumored new social hub.
Fans can follow the release of new information about House of Wolves on Bungie’s official news hub here.
What Does This Mean?
With nearly a 5-month wait in between expansions, the extent to which the player base will return for House of Wolves is a cause for concern for the studio. Destiny was, and still is, criticized for its lack of content and it is uncertain whether House of Wolves will quell these concerns or simply add more “stuff” for hardcore players to consume.
Either way, this new expansion will serve as a benchmark for the game’s lifecycle; if fans are provided with a breadth of compelling new content, Destiny may yet live up to its 10-year plan. However, if the expansion merely follows The Dark Below’s outline, the franchise may peter out long before its ambitious goal.
House of Wolves is “free” for those who bought the season pass at $34.99, while players who bought each expansion individually will have to pay $19.99. Bungie plans on releasing a much larger expansion this fall, tentatively given the codename “Comet.”
