How to preload The Final Shape in Destiny 2

Destiny 2’s The Final Shape is one of the game’s biggest content drops yet, both in importance and in file size. Thankfully for guardians, they can preload the expansion, which will save some valuable time.

Preloading The Final Shape helps ensure you’ll get to the servers on time, though it doesn’t exempt you from the usual “Destiny 2 is temporarily at capacity” messages from server queues. Here’s what you need to know to preload Destiny 2, including file size requirements, when you can preload, and how much disk space you’ll need to do so.

The Final Shape preload, explained

The Final Shape preload will save players time by letting them download the expansion ahead of time, provided they have enough storage space. Lightfall had a similar process, so players who were around for that expansion launch may already know what to expect. Here’s a breakdown of the preload process.

How do I preload Destiny 2’s The Final Shape on all platforms?

To preload The Final Shape, look for an update to Destiny 2 on your platform. PC guardians on Steam, Epic Games, and Microsoft Store should have the download automatically put in their updates queue, according to Bungie.

Xbox and PlayStation users can also find the game on their download list if they have auto-update enabled. In the case of any issues, the developer recommends checking out the official Xbox and PlayStation support pages to enable the feature.

The Final Shape preload is available for players on PC (Steam, Epic Games, Microsoft Store), plus PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

When can I preload The Final Shape in Destiny 2?

Preloads for The Final Shape are available on multiple platforms with different requirements. Preloads are scheduled to begin on June 3 at 12pm CT, according to Bungie’s official maintenance timeline, but that time is liable to change. This gives players 24 hours to download the expansion ahead of its full release—and with such high storage requirements, the long window can give you more time to clean up your PC if you need the extra space.

How much HD space do I need to preload The Final Shape?

The Final Shape will be a huge download for players across the board, though guardians on Steam and Epic Games have an even steeper storage requirement. Steam and Epic Games require players to have both the “old” and new versions of Destiny 2, which brings their total HD space requirement close to 300 GB if they want to preload The Final Shape. A similar process happened with Lightfall.

This steep number isn’t the official disk space once the expansion drops, however. The older version of the game will be deleted once Update 8.0.0.1 officially rolls around, bringing it down to the usual 150 GB ballpark. Here’s a full breakdown of the storage space requirements to preload The Final Shape, according to Bungie:

Preloading The Final Shape can take up quite a bit of storage space. For instance, I had to uninstall Helldivers 2 to have enough room for the preload, and I hope Super Earth understands my betrayal. That said, with such lengthy downloads on the horizon, the extra 24 hours to download the update splits up demand on multiple platforms, instead of having everyone download it at the same time.