Is Destiny 2: Lightfall free to play?

Destiny 2 has been marketed as a free-to-play game. And to a certain extent, it is.

But really, it’s more like a glorified demo. Playing the base free-to-play version of Destiny 2 gets you limited content. Once you complete a brief intro quest that mostly serves as a tutorial for the game, you’ll gain access to the Tower where you’ll be able to enjoy Vanguard, Crucible and Gambit matches along with a few other repetitive side activities.

For the main story though, you’ll have to purchase the expansions. That includes the soon-to-be-released Lightfall. Destiny 2: Lightfall is set to release this week, and the latest expansion will take Guardians to the planet of Neptune where we’ll attempt to prevent the devastation of the neon metropolis known as Neomuna.

And while Destiny 2 is marketed as a free-to-play game, expansions are paid premium content. Destiny 2: Lightfall will cost $49.99 and will include all of the new story content, weapons and exotics, the new raid and the Season 20 pass. There’s also a $99.99 version that includes the Annual Pass featuring access to Seasons 20, 21, 22 and 23. It also won’t be offered for free through Xbox Game Pass or as part of PlayStation Plus.

Destiny 2 really transformed during Year Four. The massive overhaul sent content from the original base campaign as well as Curse of the Osiris and Warmind to the Destiny Content Vault. Year Four also kicked off with the fifth expansion, Beyond Light. And while Lightfall isn’t free-to-play, Destiny 2: Beyond Light was featured as part of the February PS Plus lineup, so you can go ahead and grab that for free right now.

The most recently released expansion was The Witch Queen in early 2022. That’s also paid premium content, although Bungie did make it free-to-play during the weekend (which ends today). And now we turn our attention to Destiny 2: Lightfall which releases on February 28, 2023.