It's hard to believe that Destiny 2 Year 4 is almost here. Yes, Guardians, the latest big announcement from Bungie is on the way, probably on the heels of Season 11 (starting June 9), which will deliver the next big epoch of Destiny 2.

And thanks to the new announcement, the time to expect news of Destiny 2 Year 4 is even clearer. Even better, it will be coming pretty soon.

And as you can see below, Destiny 2 Year 4 brings a very welcome improvement: the timing of going on raids will no longer be restricted. This seems to be part of a strategy to expand the game's user base by making it easier to move around and not have to play before levels disappear.

On June 9 we got our first glimpse of Destiny 2 Year 4. This begins on September 22 with the release of the "Beyond Light" expansion; in this next chapter of Destiny, a new pyramid ship appears near Europa, Jupiter's icy moon, and a Guardian is summoned to investigate the plagues of darkness.

The trailer above focuses on the journey of a Drifter dealing with cramped cargo space, who comes to the aid of Eris Mohn (first met in The Dark Below), who is walking uphill in a blizzard, braving a strong wind. Jupiter is visible in the sky, one of the reasons people immediately assumed that the drifter was headed for one of Jupiter's moons.

With darkness looming, a new elemental power is being revealed. It is called stasis, and as the name suggests, hunters, titans, and warlocks use it to warp matter, slowing down their enemies or shattering them into pieces.

Destiny 2's next three major expansions have been announced: "Beyond Light" in 2020, "The Witch Queen" in 2021, and "Lightfall" in 2022.

Developer Evan Nikolich explained that Bungie's goal for the fourth year is not to confine people to the moment they are in, "If you start playing in March 2021, you can still go back and experience the story content from Season 12 and Season 13. in March 2021. If you start playing, you will experience narrative content from Season 12 and Season 13. We want the stories to feel more cohesive and flow with meaningful momentum from season to season, leading to exciting climaxes each year."

According to Nikolich, this is intended to "build a better interconnected narrative and, more importantly, allow players to be part of that narrative no matter when they enter the year."

This could be the Destiny Content Vault that Bungie announced in its June 9 stream. This feature would make old and current Destiny and Destiny 2 content available in a cycle-in-and-out fashion.

Good news for those worried about exotic changes, Destiny 2 Year 4 exotics have not yet been leaked, but they will not be subject to the new rules that limit weapon power.

Did you know that in Destiny 2, you can power up your gun with infusions from other guns? Starting this month (June 2020), Destiny weapons will have a maximum power level for the infusion bonus; according to Bungie's blog post, this will not apply to exotics.

We had already (correctly) assumed that Destiny 2 would be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X, but some important details regarding these releases have emerged. First, current generation console owners who purchased Destiny 2: Beyond Light will be able to upgrade to the next-gen version, which includes all existing content, for free.

On June 9, Bungie announced in the following video that the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Destiny 2 will thankfully support 60fps and 4K resolution (a big jump from the current generation's 30fps and 1080p rates).

In the same good news, the PS5 and XSX versions will allow crossplay with previous generation consoles, but only between consoles from the same company. In other words, PS5 and PS4 gamers can play against each other, while Xbox Series X gamers can raid with Xbox One owners.

Bungie has even teased that cross-play may be possible between PlayStation and Xbox consoles by 2021. Fingers crossed, Guardians.