How Bungie is taking Destiny 2 into new generation with Beyond Light updates

The next generation of consoles are slated for release on November 10 for Xbox Series X/S and November 12th for the PlayStation 5. These consoles will boast a monumental increase in game performance over the former generation with 4k/60fps (frames per second) finally becoming the norm for console gaming.

When these new consoles were initially revealed, Bungie was quick to announce that they were hard at work on a free upgrade to the current game that would allow the owners of the new consoles to take full advantage of the new tech.

Unfortunately, Bungie has stated that this upgrade will only become available on December 8th which means the initial release of Beyond Light will be missed.

Here is an easy to read chart that Bungie provided with the details:

Increased Resolution and Framerate

Most people are familiar with 4K resolution but for those out of the loop here’s a quick rundown. This video resolution boasts a pixel count of 3840 x 2160 which is exactly four times the pixel count of the industry norm ‘1080p’ which is only 1920 x 1080. This increase in pixels not only dramatically boosts image detail and clarity but also adds a significant amount of depth.

The large boost to pixel count is great and all but we have hit a point of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution. The jump from 480p to 720p and 720p to 1080p were significant and easily noticeable but the increase from 1080p to 4K is much more subtle.

Ask anyone within the PC community what matters more between resolution and framerate and they will tell you that framerate is king. The jump to 60 frames per second for the new consoles is definitely something to be excited for as it brings about a whole new layer of smoothness to the already smooth gameplay of Destiny 2. For many console gamers it can be hard to imagine the difference between 30fps, which is what the current consoles offer, and 60fps but let me tell you the difference is substantial.

Honestly, upon switching to PC and being able to play at 60+fps it was hard to play again on console, the low framerate just made it hard to focus on the image.

Here is a quick video by A2K Gamer that gives a great showcase of the difference a higher frame rate can offer. Make sure to enable either 720p60 or 1080p60 in the quality settings of the video to really see the difference.

Field of View Slider

An extremely underrated addition to the next-gen consoles, and what prompted me to write this article, is the new field of view (FOV) slider.

In gaming, the FOV is a number representing the degree of angle that the player can see of their surroundings.

Since increasing the FOV displays more of the screen it can put more stress on the system as it needs to render a larger area of the game. This is why many current console games have lower FOVs as it reduces the stress on the systems that in many cases are already stretched to the breaking point.

Destiny 2 on console has a FOV of 72 while on PC this number can be raised up to a max of 105. Here are two screenshots at the same location, one with 72 FOV and one with 105 FOV:

The difference between 72 and 105 FOV is immediately clear, there is almost double the amount of game area seen at 105.

This change is honestly one of life or death. A higher FOV simply gives you a much higher amount of situational awareness. Playing PvP at 72 FOV and die to an enemy that ran around a corner that you didn't quite have in your vision? At 105 FOV you still have this corner in your peripheral and are able to react to the threat in time and possibly gain a kill instead of a death.

As said before, raising the FOV can lead to a loss in framerate so once this change goes live for the next-gen consoles it’s important to find a setting that gives a nice compromise. Some people don't like gaming at 105 FOV as it can leave the edges of the screen looking a bit stretched out and areas in the middle feeling zoomed out. Be sure to use the slider to find a FOV that suits you.

If you play Destiny on a console, you really do need to get your hands on an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5 pronto once they are released. Destiny 2 is simply going to become a completely different experience once these graphic enhancements go live.