Destiny 2 Shadowkeep: Servers Down, Patch Notes, And Known Issues

Update 2: Destiny 2 servers are down for maintenance, as Bungie announced would be the case on Wednesday. They went down at 8 AM PT and should return by 8:30 AM, so this isn't a major downtime, barring any unforeseen problems.

Update: Destiny 2 servers are back online, but perhaps as expected, the combination of Shadowkeep players and New Light newcomers have flooded those servers. While many Steam users can't get past the unlocking stage, those who do get in on all platforms are reporting "servers are temporarily at capacity" errors that prevent them from logging in. Bungie has acknowledged the server queue on Twitter, but there's no word on how soon we can expect this problem to be resolved.

Bungie is also reporting sign-on errors for both Destiny 1 and Destiny 2 players.

We're now less than half an hour away from the release of Destiny 2's new Shadowkeep expansion and free-to-play New Light version. The game remains in server maintenance mode until that release time arrives. But you can start preparing yourself now, with pre-loading of the update available on PS4 and Xbox One. Bungie has sent notice that it is now pre-loading across all regions. And seemingly because the expansion download is part of the incoming 2.6.0.1 update, you can pre-load Shadowkeep without pre-ordering.

With a short while left until maintenance ends, Bungie has released the 2.6.0.1 patch notes. As you'd expect for the update that kicks off the new year of content, these are absolutely massive, containing some of the fundamental additions and changes to the game (such as the new Finisher system), numerous balance changes, and more.

Pre-loading this update now will allow you to start playing the new content the moment it goes live on October 1 at 10 AM PT. Pre-loading of the full game, including the free-to-play New Light version, has been available on Steam since last week.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep And New Light Launch Time

• October 1 @ 10 AM PT
• October 1 @ 1 PM ET
• October 1 @ 6 PM BST
• October 2 @ 3 AM AET (October 2)

Before you jump into the game, there are some Shadowkeep known issues to be aware of. One of these concerns characters made just before maintenance began not being correctly boosted to 750 Power, while others involve problems some mistakes with in-game text or access to certain things. Hit the link above for the full rundown, or you can see a few of Bungie's many tweets below.

Shadowkeep will introduce several big changes to Destiny 2, including nerfs to some of the current best guns, significant refinement of the loot grind, and the swapping of pinnacle weapons for new "ritual weapons." Its release coincides with that of New Light, the F2P portion of the experience that's open to everyone and includes a substantial amount of existing content, as well as upcoming events and more.

Meanwhile, Bungie says it is preparing to become more than just the Destiny studio. It has plans to release a new, non-Destiny game sometime in the next several years.