Destiny's second expansion, House of Wolves, will be released May 19, publisher Activision announced today.
That's about four and a half months after the first expansion, The Dark Below, which launched Dec. 9. The launch date for House of Wolves falls during Activision's previously announced second-quarter release window, and is the exact date that was rumored in a February leak. Destiny itself was released Sept. 9 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. House of Wolves is the second and final expansion in the game's $34.99 Expansion Pass; purchased separately, the two expansions cost $19.99 each.
Bungie said earlier this year that it hopes it will fix some of The Dark Below's mistakes with House of Wolves. In particular, the studio doesn't want to invalidate hard-earned raid gear with items you can just buy from vendors, or force players to re-upgrade exotic weapons. Instead, Bungie is aiming to "lessen the grind and get players to the fun parts of their arsenal faster," according to designer Luke Smith.
House of Wolves may send players to the Reef in the Asteroid Belt, according to a late-February leak. It would be a new social hub for Guardians to hang out in, a second area beyond the Tower in The Last City on Earth. The leaked information for House of Wolves also mentioned a new Awoken storyline, plus three new Crucible maps and another Fallen strike. The Dark Below added one new strike to Destiny as well, but it included an additional strike (and other content) exclusively on PlayStation platforms.
With each of the two February leaks, Bungie advised Destiny players that all House of Wolves content is "placeholder" and is subject to change until the studio officially announces the details. But the expansion's prologue, which you can watch above, seems to confirm the leaked information. In a voice-over, the Queen of the Reef invites Guardians to hunt the Fallen who betrayed her people, the Awoken, after the Awoken gave the Fallen a home in the Reef.
Following House of Wolves, Bungie will put out a "major content release" for Destiny later this year, Activision announced during an earnings call in February. In the meantime, you can read our review of The Dark Below, an expansion that we felt was "just as grandiose and ultimately shallow as the main game," and check out its trailer below.
Correction: The February leaks mentioned a new strike, but not a third raid. We've edited the article to reflect this.
