Destiny 2 Renegades Preview – It Doesn’t Have to Be “The Taken King.” It Just Needs to Not Suck.

We are tired. We are broke. And if Bungie doesn’t stick the landing on this Star Wars crossover, we might finally be done. This Destiny 2 Renegades preview is fueled by skepticism, not hype. Stop asking this expansion to be the Messiah and start asking it to just not waste our time.

Destiny 2 Renegades Preview

Why does the community feel like Destiny 2 is dying (again)?

Let’s be real for a second: the mood in the Tower hasn’t been this weird since Curse of Osiris. We’re rolling into Destiny 2: Renegades off the back of The Edge of Fate (which was… fine, in the most “it exists” way possible) and the absolute dumpster fire that was Ash & Iron in September.

The community is exhausted. We spent the last three months in “Destiny killer” discourse, only to realize the only thing that can kill Destiny is Destiny itself. And right now, the game is holding the gun, safety off, staring into a mirror.

Enter Renegades, the shiny, Lucasfilm-approved distraction arriving later today. The marketing machine wants this to be the “Savior Moment.” But that exact expectation is why we keep ending up hurt.

Destiny 2 Renegades doesn’t need to be the greatest expansion in the history of gaming. It doesn’t need to reinvent the looter-shooter genre. It just needs to stop the bleeding and prove there’s still a future worth logging in for. For more of our thoughts on Bungie and Destiny (going back to the Senshudo days) catch up on episodes of Aggressively Casual.

In this Destiny 2 Renegades preview, we can’t ignore Sony’s shadow

We can’t pretend Renegades exists in a vacuum. The elephant in the room has a PlayStation logo stamped on it. The “Sony takeover” talk has gone from conspiracy theory to “yeah, that tracks” in record time.

Here’s the reality: if Renegades flops—if player retention falls off a cliff after three weeks like it did with Ash & Iron—the Bungie we know is probably done. We’re looking at a future where:

• The studio gets fully absorbed.
• Creative teams are gutted or reshuffled.
• Destiny 3, if it happens, is built more for quarterly earnings calls than raid nights.

That gives Destiny 2: Renegades a frantic, slightly desperate energy. You can feel it in the ViDocs: the devs look tired, but dialed in. They know this Star Wars collaboration isn’t just a fun “what if.” It’s a lifeline.

Our bigger question in this Renegades preview isn’t “Is this expansion good?” It’s “Is this expansion enough to convince Sony that Bungie can still steer its own ship?” For a deeper dive into the corporate stakes, we’ll be unpacking this on an upcoming episode of The Pause Screen [Internal Link].

Is the Star Wars crossover actually good, or just a storefront wearing a poncho?

On paper, Destiny 2 Renegades finally delivers the space western fantasy Bungie’s been flirting with since the Drifter first flipped a coin. The collaboration with Lucasfilm is bold—some will say desperate—but at least it’s a swing. And “fun” is a word we haven’t used without an asterisk in about six months.

The new “Lawless Frontier” patrol zone looks dense, dirty, and properly hostile. It feels like the kind of place where a Hunter belongs: back alleys, neon cantinas, and enough dust to ruin even the best shader.

If I can sprint through a wretched hive of scum and villainy with a Hand Cannon that sounds suspiciously like a DL-44, I’m willing to forgive a lot of sins. That’s the fantasy Destiny 2: Renegades is selling.

But here’s the danger:

Is this a game, or is it a storefront?

Licensing Star Wars is not cheap. Disney does not do charity. My biggest fear going into reset tomorrow isn’t the server queues—it’s Eververse.

If the real Star Wars content—Jedi-adjacent robes, iconic weapon skins, emotes that scream “I paid $20 for this”—lives almost entirely behind microtransactions while the “earnable” loot is just reskinned blues from 2018, the community will revolt. And they’ll be right.

The line between “smart crossover” and “premium cash shop event with a quest attached” is paper-thin. Renegades has to land on the right side of it.

What does a real Destiny 2 Renegades turnaround look like?

Here’s the hard truth the “Destiny 2 is dead” crowd won’t admit: Bungie doesn’t need a miracle. They need competence. A consistent base hit instead of swinging for the fences every time and throwing out their shoulder.

A real Destiny 2 Renegades turnaround doesn’t look like a second coming of The Taken King. It looks like this:

Respecting player time
Don’t make us grind the same Public Event 50 times for a currency cap that tells us to come back next week. Stop designing around “How long can we keep them on the treadmill?” and start designing around “How often do they want to come back willingly?”

Narrative cohesion
Tell a complete story in the game. Not half in seasonal missions, a quarter in a lore book, and the rest in a ViDoc with sad piano. Let Renegades be a self-contained arc that feels worth finishing, even if you don’t set foot in a raid.

Loot that actually matters
If this is the big Star Wars-flavored expansion, the loot has to change how we play, not just how we look. New exotic synergies, build-defining perks, and guns that feel so good you refuse to take them off, even when the numbers say you should.

If Destiny 2: Renegades launches stable, respects solo players’ time, and gives us a reason to log in that isn’t just FOMO, that’s a win. We need to normalize “good and consistent” being enough. Not every release needs to be a redemption arc.

Should you play Destiny 2: Renegades on launch day?

Short answer: yes, you probably already preloaded it, you liar.

I’m loading in tomorrow. You’re loading in tomorrow. We’re all going to complain about the patch size. We’re all going to roast whatever UI tweaks they’ve shoved in this time. That’s part of the ritual at this point.

But for the first time in a year, I’m not “hyped” and I’m not “dreading” it. I’m curious. Bungie has its back against the wall, and historically that’s when they do their weirdest, best work.

If you want to experience the chaos in real time, we’ll be live on Hotkey Breakdown for launch day streams, queue crashes, and live-fire impressions [Internal Link].

TL;DR (For The Skippers) – Destiny 2 Renegades Preview

The Gist:
Destiny 2: Renegades drops today, bringing the “Lawless Frontier” patrol zone, official Star Wars-flavored weaponry, and a hard vibe shift from “space opera” to “space western.” This Destiny 2 Renegades preview is less about hype and more about whether Bungie can finally stabilize the game.

The Stakes:
Sony is watching. After Ash & Iron, Bungie’s autonomy is hanging by a thread. Renegades isn’t just another Destiny 2 expansion—it’s a live-fire test of whether Bungie can still run its own house.

The Fear:
That Star Wars licensing fees will fuel the most aggressive Eververse monetization we’ve seen yet, with the best robes, emotes, and weapon skins locked behind silver while earnable loot feels like reskinned leftovers.

The Win Condition:
We don’t need a revolution. We need:

• A stable gameplay loop,
• Loot that changes how we play,
• A story that actually lands in-game,
• Systems that respect your time instead of punishing your schedule.

If I have to grind 40 hours for a lightsaber that gets sunset in six months, I’m out. If Renegades gives me a few great guns, a dungeon that isn’t broken, and a reason to tell the group chat “log on,” that’s enough.

Final verdict: Don’t save us. Just entertain us.

Destiny 2: Renegades doesn’t have to be The Taken King 2.0. It doesn’t have to fix a decade of frustration in one shot. It just has to prove that Bungie can still ship something fun, coherent, and not blatantly hostile to our wallets.

So, Bungie:
You don’t have to save my life.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Just give me:

• A Hand Cannon that feels incredible to shoot,
• A Lawless Frontier that’s worth getting lost in,
• A cadence of rewards that feels fair instead of manipulative.

Do that, and Destiny 2 Renegades might not just keep the game alive—it might remind us why we cared in the first place.

For the official launch schedule and maintenance windows, check the Bungie website.

Don’t save us. Just entertain us.

AJ Hanson

AJ Hanson has been part of games media since 2011, writing, streaming, and ranting about the industry long before it was his job. He runs the Galaxy’s Edge Discord, the go-to community for fans of Disney’s Star Wars parks, and works as Marketing Director for the Virtual Cantina Network, helping produce shows, interviews, and fan events. A lifelong Star Wars fan and unapologetic nerd, AJ’s focus has always been on building spaces where people can connect, argue, and celebrate the things they love without all the corporate gloss.