Can you play Destiny 2 without buying anything?

Destiny 2 is Bungie's MMO game that was released on October 24, 2017, for PC, and it features a first-person perspective. During its release, it was a pay-to-play, but following October 1, 2019, and the release of New Light expansion, it brought about a new free-to-play model.

The title is set in a fictional realm, which includes a multiplayer environment with role-playing elements that include activities, like its predecessor, conventional story missions, dungeons, raids, and so on.

And while free-to-play gamers can enjoy Destiny 2 without having to buy anything, that's not the complete story.

Note: this article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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It's possible to play Destiny 2 without making any purchases, but there's a catch

The introductory campaign was updated by Bungie (Image via Bungie)

Yes. It is possible to play Destiny 2 without making any purchases. It is a point to note, however, that expansions that came later are an integral part of the core story in the Light and Darkness saga and require purchases.

Therefore, the free-to-play model can be considered a sort of trial for the game. It will allow you to get familiar with the game and its mechanics, but it would not be enough to satisfy your experience with the story and featured content. This core story mentioned above is a part of the complete Light and Darkness saga, and The Final Shape expansion, its last part, was launched as a purchasable DLC on June 4, 2024.

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How Bungie changed the introductory parts for Destiny 2

The Lightfall expansion was poorly received due to several issues (Image via Bungie)

When Bungie launched Destiny 2's free-to-play New Light edition in October 2019, it altered the introductory part of the game for newcomers, reinstating the first task from the original Destiny as the starting assignment. After the completion of this brief mission, alongside the discovery of a jumpship, players are transported to a Tower. Here they get to meet various NPCs and begin the Destiny campaigns for The Red War, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind.

However, after the release of the Beyond Light expansion in November 2020, Bungie updated the original base campaign of The Red War and then transferred the Curse of Osiris and the Warmind campaigns to its Destiny Content Vault. This effectively removed them from the game. Inside it, these removals are explained as planets taken over by forces of darkness.

This resulted in Bungie having to create another new player experience for newcomers, which has a similar introductory phase as New Light but leads them into the Cosmodrome. Here, they get to discover the world of Destiny with its new origin story.

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Check out our other articles on Destiny 2:

• Which Final Shape Edition should you buy?
• Do you need to play previous expansions before The Final Shape?