Bungie and Star Wars owner hashed out the tone of new Destiny 2 expansion Renegades together, realized it can't "feel like a side quest": "What’s the bad version of this?"

While Destiny 2's upcoming Renegades expansion is themed around Star Wars, it's not a Star Wars crossover, as Bungie has assured fans it's "in-canon for the Destiny universe" despite bringing in elements from the film series. However, it isn't just a homage either, as Bungie has worked directly with Lucasfilm on the new expansion, although instead of Lightsabers you'll be wielding the "Praxic Sword" to keep it in the realm of Destiny.

In the "Destiny 2: Renegades Developer Livestream," narrative director Alison Lührs explains, "I remember the first time that we went down to San Francisco. We had this really big meeting where the Destiny narrative folks were on one side and the Star Wars narrative folks on the other. We broke the ice by just asking 'What's the bad version of this?' We had a really good laugh over what that looked like." (Thanks, PCGamer.)

However, it was through those discussions that the teams "uncovered that this should be the aesthetic, the vibe of Star Wars" but be true to "Destiny's narrative that we knew needed to be there." While the video features another developer saying, "It can't feel like a one-off. This can't feel like a a side quest... this has to be a continuation of the Fate Saga."

Given that Star Wars' biggest impact on the gaming scene as of late has probably been the Fortnite crossovers, it makes total sense that Bungie has gone with its direction. Not only do you avoid the fatigue that we're seeing in other shooters like Call of Duty of everything trying to be Fortnite – especially when it comes to that precious Destiny lore – but Fortnite is also able to do loads of out-there stuff, and nobody bats an eye (as I'm writing this, a giant Homer Simpson is floating in the sky of Fortnite), which I don't think Destiny would click with in the same way.

Regardless, it is refreshing to see a game be given the crossover go-ahead, show restraint, and still stay true to what makes it unique, because I can definitely see a version of this where Darth Vader is a raid boss and you have C3PO as your Peter Dinklage companion for a few missions.

As Destiny 2 faces dwindling player counts, MIA roadmap, and another scrapped in-game currency, Sony admits the MMO has not met expectations following $3.6bn Bungie acquisition.