Guardians are heading into a criminal underworld where sabers clash and syndicates call the shots.

Destiny 2 is boldly going into a galaxy far, far away. Bungie has lifted the curtain on Renegades, the next major expansion landing on 2 December, and it’s crammed with Star Wars inspirations, from Sarlacc-style death traps to Mos Eisley-flavoured outposts.

In the new Bungie ViDoc posted on 10 September, Bungie described Renegades as a story that "redefines what an expansion can be," pulling from Lucasfilm’s galaxy to create what they call a space Western. Guardians will dive into a criminal underworld to rescue an ally whose past is catching up with him, while the sinister new Cabal faction, the Barant Imperium, rises at breakneck speed.

And yes, they look every bit like chunky Stormtroopers.

The parallels are deliberate. Bungie explained: "Our Dredgen, they’re Sith. Pretty Sith-y. The Barant Imperium are very, very Empire-like… The Praxic Order? Those are our Jedi."

The Lawless Frontier and shady alliances

The campaign pushes players into The Lawless Frontier, a mix of chaotic co-op jobs that Bungie admits feel like an extraction shooter. Missions are split between Bounty Hunts, Smuggling runs, and Sabotage ops, where the goal is simple: get in, grab loot, and escape before the Cabal bring the hammer down.

Mars is reimagined with deadly pits straight out of Return of the Jedi, Europa channels Hoth’s icy wastes, and Venus carries a swampy Dagobah energy.

Players won’t just be fighting the Imperium head-on. Instead, they’ll build notoriety with crooked syndicates at Tharsis Outpost, a black-market hub inspired by Mos Eisley. The Eliksni biker gang known as the Pikers, Psion-run Totality Division, and the breakaway Vex collective Tharsis Reformation all offer dirty jobs and dangerous alliances.

Bungie teased that “Renegades isn’t just about power. It’s about what you’re willing to risk to change the future.”

Renegade abilities system to be introduced

One of the biggest additions is the Renegade abilities system. Before each mission, Guardians can pick from a growing arsenal: airstrikes, Cabal walkers, swoop bikes, turrets, even drop pods. Bungie likened it to a sprawling tech tree with offensive, defensive, and support powers that layer on top of existing class abilities.

Replayability is the name of the game, with randomised objectives, shifting time-of-day cycles, and curveballs like missile towers or double-crosses mid-mission. And if that wasn’t spicy enough, Invasion makes a return, but this time it’s more tactical, letting players choose the right moment to unleash chaos with vehicles or heavy abilities.

At the core of Renegades is a clash between light and darkness, order and chaos. The Drifter takes centre stage again, convinced that The Nine are tied to the Imperium’s rise, even as the Vanguard turn a blind eye.

Bungie promise a campaign and endgame where Guardians must fight dirty, make alliances they’d usually despise, and ultimately face down the Imperium’s ultimate weapon. As the studio put it: "Even in the darkest corners of this world, there’s still a glimmer of hope."

Destiny 2: Renegades launches 2 December, 2025.