June 9th will be a historic day for Destiny 2

It's been a disappointing couple of weeks Destiny 2 fans, after learning that Bungie would end ongoing development of the live service game when a final update launches on June 9, 2026. For the first time in over a decade, the world of Fate will effectively stay, despite both Destiny 2 and its predecessors remain playable in maintenance mode. That in itself makes the June 9 update a historic one, but there are even more reasons why that date is likely to be one of the biggest days in the series' history.

First, the last patch, titled “Monument of Triumph”, already sounds like the most extensive update the game has ever received external expansions, as Destiny 2 the team has not only drip-fed patch notes but also confirmed the length of time in writing. Second, the game's community has rallied since the announcement of its impending end, to the point that many who previously left for one reason or another have committed to return when Monument of Triumph goes live. In other words, June 9 is scheduled to be a date that Destiny 2 fans, and perhaps the gaming industry in general, will remember for a very long time.

Destiny 2's latest update sounds massive

Monument of Triumph might not be the absolute biggest update Destiny 2 has ever received, but it may well be the most comprehensive at a systemic quality of life level. This is largely due to the fact that it will be the live service game's final evolutionary patch, so Bungie needs to make sure it's meaty enough to make the game playable indefinitely and fun for those who plan to stick around. Based on what the developer has shared so far in various dev insights, current and returning players have a lot to look forward to, and the general feeling around the update seems to be that this is what Destiny 2 have needed all along.

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The biggest changes that Monument of Triumph makes in Destiny 2

• Legendary Marks return as a new reward currency earned through Monument of Triumph Triumphs.
• The director returns as Destiny 2s main hub of activitywith Kepler and the Lawless Frontier added to the map.
• Destination changes are updated with new perks, tiered rewards, set bonuses and updated world change.
• Distortions are added for selected patrol locationsproviding tougher enemies, rotating destination focus and unique rewards.
• The portal is being folded into the directorwith Portal Ops categories accessible via nodes at the bottom of the map.
• New Portal Ops activities are addedincluding Heist Battlegrounds: Mars, Operation: Seraph's Shield, Zero Hour, Override and more attacks.
• Gambit is becoming Gambit Opswith updated scoring and a place in the new director structure.
• Heavy Metal is backwith vehicle battles and Crucible updates.
• The Sparrow Racing League is backwith recurring tracks, new change and new twists.
• Pantheon returns permanentlywith bosses rolling out on June 9th, June 13th and June 16th.
• Raid and prison swap updated with level parity, set bonuses, new perks and weekly featured raids and dungeons.
• Weapon level upgrade addedwhich allows qualified weapons to move up through the Gear Tier system.
• Crafted weapons are given a level upgrade path through the crafting table and weapon level milestones.
• 25 exotic weapons Catalysts are addedand nine older Catalysts are improved that previously only offered stat bonuses.
• The weapon sandbox gets a broad trim passincluding exotic buffs, legendary weapon changes, primary weapon PvE buffs, special weapon PvE buffs, and perk updates.
• Artifact 2.0 reworks Artifactsincluding Champion counters and charging support.
• New subclass abilities are addedincluding three new Aspects, two new Darkness grenades, and a new Nightstalker melee.
• Several major abilities are being reworkedincluding Trapper's Ambush, Ward of Dawn, Mindspun Invocation, and Stasis Harvest Aspects.
• Monument of Triumph rewards include 12 armor ornament sets per classreturning shaders, skimmers, exotic weapons, exotic faction trinkets, engrams and new universal helmet trinkets.

Because so many improvements are being made Destiny 2 on June 9th, Bungie can't fit everything into one easy-to-read blog post on its website, so at the time of writing it's spread these details over five separate, rather lengthy posts instead. Each post varies in length, but some have reached upwards of 8,000 words, which tells you how significant Destiny 2s Monument of Triumph update will be.

What's more, Bungie recently confirmed via a post on the official Destiny 2 team X reports that the patch notes for the update are at least 71 pages and 17,000 words long. While long patch notes don't automatically make an update important, they do show how much ground Bungie is trying to cover with Monument of Triumph. Between the Director, Portal, Destination Rewards, Pantheon, SRL, Gambit Ops, Exotic Catalysts, Artifact 2.0, Ability Changes, Weapon Tuning, and Monument Rewards, June 9 is looking more and more like Bungie's last big attempt to touch almost every corner of Destiny 2 before the game settles into its old era.

Beyond the Monument of Triumph's size and the impact it will have on the game structurally, however, the number of players agreeing to show up on June 9 to support Destiny 2. If the number of players were to reach or even exceed their all-time high, it would definitely make history. But at the very least, the game is likely to see one of the biggest player spikes since its launch in 2017, especially in light of Destiny 2 content creators like Aztecross often encourage their followers to log in with them that day.

Already, the game has seen an increase in players, with its 24-hour peak on Steam at the time of writing being over 26,000 players, according to SteamDB. That might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it's actually the most players the game has seen online at one time since January, just a month after Destiny 2pp Star Wars-themed expansion, Renegades, was released. It's normal to see an influx of players after a major update or expansion launches, even if it slows down after a month or so, but it's something else entirely when so many players log in for a major update like Monument of Triumph.

The safest expectation is that the Monument of Triumph presses on Destiny 2 well beyond its recent 24-hour Steam peak and potentially above Renegade's December 2025 peak of roughly 70,000 players. If the community rally gains enough momentum, it wouldn't be shocking to see the game climb into the 100,000 player range on Steam, which would put June 9th over The Edge of Fate's launch and make Destiny 2biggest moment on the platform since The Final Shape. Reaching the game's all-time Steam peak of more than 316,000 players is still a much taller order, as that number came during Lightfall's launch, when Destiny 2 was in a completely different place. Even so, the Monument of Triumph doesn't need to break that record to make history. If enough lapsed Guardians return for one last login, June 9th could still be it Destiny 2last major show of force.

Whatever happens on June 9, it's hard to imagine the Monument of Triumph feeling like just another one Destiny 2 update. For some players, that will be a reason to come back and see what Bungie has changed. For others, it will be a chance to stand in the tower, run another activity with old friends, or simply be there as the game enters the next stage of life. Destiny 2 may be nearing the end of its live service journey, but June 9 could prove that the community still has one last moment left.

Released

August 28, 2017

ESRB

T For TEEN for blood, language and violence