Followinga series of misstepsthat came about after theLightfallDLC came out, Bungie is now seemingly all hands on deck about the upcoming release ofThe FinalShape. Due to launch on July 26, 2025,The Final Shaperepresents the grand finale of the franchise’s long-lasting Light and Dark saga. ThoughDestiny 2will continue trucking along for the foreseeable future, the big war that the Guardians have been a part of for over a decade now will come to an end, and that gives Bungie an opening to deliver heaps ofDestiny 1callbacks along the way.
Indeed, even thoughthe reveal ofThe Final Shapehas whelmed playerson day one, the first big reveal trailer includes an impressive amount of throwbacks toDestiny‘s history. From returning locations to classic armor sets that may or may not come back with the DLC, there’s certainly much to go through, and that’s precisely what this article aims to do.
Destiny 1callbacks in The Final Shape reveal trailer
On top of kicking offa successful new season inDestiny 2, Bungie has positioned itself for some big wins withThe Final Shape. Provided, of course, that the studio can deliver on two fronts simultaneously: it needs to satisfy both newer players that haven’t had much experience with the game’s older narrative beats, as well as hitting the right notes withDestinyandDestiny 2Year 1 veterans. That’s no mean feat! Now, we’ve got no way of knowing what novelties Bungie may or may not have in store just yet. We do, however, have an idea of what nostalgic bits may be coming.
Destiny 1Tower makes a comeback
One ofThe Final Shape‘s establishing shots features the classicDestiny 1Tower vista, though it no longer looks over the Last City. Instead, there’s the mysterious Pale Heart: the all-new patrol zone that plays host to bits and pieces from the entireDestinyfranchise. This does set the stage for the rest of the DLC, from the looks of it: players should expect a healthy amount of remixing for reprised locations, enemies, and items, as it seems that the Pale Heart itself is some reflection of what’s come before. There are some interesting narrative implications here, for sure.
Cayde-6 is back
Having been killed off in the opening mission of theForsakenDLC, few players expected to see Cayde-6 once again in the game proper. Yet, not only has the old Exo Hunter vanguard returned, but he’s also seemingly going to play a major role during the events ofThe Final Shape. The nature of Cayde’s return is totally unclear at this time, though it does seem like a safe bet to imagine that the same force that’s bringing together all the disparate pieces of oldDestinylocations is bringing him back to life, too.
The Final Shape returns three classicDestiny 1Exotics
Bungie has already confirmed that there will beat least three returningDestiny 1ExoticsinThe Final Shape. These are the Khvostov 7G-0X, the Red Death, and Dragon’s Breath. These were fairly interesting and popular choices back duringDestiny‘s original heyday, so it’s not awfully strange that Bungie would choose to bring them all back forDestiny 2‘s final narrative hurrah.
New Light subclasses lean intoDestiny 1content
While this hasn’t been outright stated, it’s not hard to see the parallels betweenThe Final Shape‘s new Light subclassesand the classicDestinyGuardian subclasses. Hunters, for example, are finally getting a Bladedancer variant, while the Warlock Sunsingers may be thrilled to hear that the class’s new Solar Super is—from the looks of it—Radiance 2.0.
The return of Alpha Lupi
Finally, some of the ongoing murmurs taking place as part ofDestiny 2‘s seasonal lore suggest thatthe ancient Alpha Lupi ARGis being brought back into relevance out of the blue. This is fairly tangential, granted, but lore-minded Guardians are sure to be thrilled once they hear that the Pale Heart itself seems to be in the dreams of Alpha Lupi.
It seems all but certain that Bungie will reveal more of theseDestiny 1callbacks asThe Final Shape‘s release draws closer.
