Destiny 2 The Witch Queen launch time, preload, and maintenance schedule

Expansions are always a high point for any live service game and there is none more anticipated than the latest Destiny 2 expansion, The Witch Queen. After its longest season to date, coming in at a whopping six months, The Witch Queen and Destiny 2's latest season, the Season of the Risen, is nearly here.

Here's everything you need to know about The Witch Queen and the Season of the Risen's launch time, preload information, maintenance, and more.

Destiny 2 The Witch Queen: What you need to know

While the Season of the Risen and The Witch Queen are not the same product, they will be released at the same time. The duo arrive on Feb. 22, 2022, and with that, there will be an extensive amount of content added to Destiny 2.

All of the content within these packages is not yet known, but the seasonal content that forms the Season of the Risen is expected to release slowly over a three-month period, as has been commonplace with the majority of previous seasons. However, the majority of content associated with The Witch Queen will be available upon its launch. Here's what to expect from the two expansions, once they drop.

• A revision of Destiny 22's staple PvEvP game mode, Gambit
• An overhaul of the Void subclass Bungie has branded as "Void 3.0"
• Weapon crafting through a location known as The Enclave
• A new weapon type called known as the "Glaive"
• A new raid within Savathun's Throne World
• New exotic weapons and armor
• A sizeable balance patch
• The Conflict Eternal six-player matchmade activity
• Savathun's Throne Worlds as explorable locations
• Returning crucible maps
• Two new strikes
• Plus, a whole host of world based loot to pursue

The release will start with scheduled maintenance, taking the game offline for a period of time, followed by an opportunity to preload, ahead of its formal release.

When does Destiny 2 The Witch Queen maintenance start?

Bungie has confirmed that Destiny 2's servers will be coming offline ahead of the launch. So, for those trying to squeeze out the last of the current season, take note of the times below and make sure you complete all your activities before Bungie flick the big switch.

Destiny 2 The Witch Queen preload start time and date

After Bungie pulls the plug on Destiny 2 servers, there will be a two-hour period before the preload, update, and hotfix for The Witch Queen expansion will start to roll out across all platforms. While the times and dates are universal, the availability may be based on your region and preference of platform.

Bungie has advised that those playing on PlayStation 4 (PS4) will also be required to download the associated PS4 compatibility packs that are available after the completion of the Hotfix preload. It is advised that players close their Destiny 2 applications to speed up this process.

Destiny The Witch Queen launch time and date

Destiny 2 servers will start to come online at 5 p.m. UTC, but the servers are scheduled to continue with maintenance for the following two hours. During this period, some players may gain access to Destiny 2 but, as with any previous release, high server volumes are expected and you may be expected to wait in a queue before being granted access.

It's not long until boots will touch the ground on The Witch Queen's fresh new soil, so stock up on completed bounties, finish any quests from previous seasons, and get ready for Destiny's latest expansion on Feb. 22.