When can you preload the Destiny 2 Lightfall expansion?

The Destiny 2 Lightfall expansion is on the way, set to release on February 28. This highly-anticipated expansion will have players exploring Neptune as The Witness and Calus lead an army against it. Before the expansion officially launches, you’ll have an opportunity to prepare for your first day and preload the expansion so you can jump into it once the servers are up. Here’s what you need to know about when you can preload the Destiny 2 Lightfall expansion, and start playing.

When is the Lightfall preload time for Destiny 2?

Bungie has outlined exactly when players can begin to prepare for Lightfall in a This Week at Bungie (TWAB) post. They also discussed several upcoming changes coming to the game alongside this massive update.

Related: Bungie disappoints Destiny 2 fans about highly anticipated Lightfall exotic ahead of release

Destiny 2 is expected to be in downtime for 24-hours leading up to the release of Lightfall. This means anyone looking to play Destiny 2 on the final week of the game should expect not to play on February 27. The official downtime starts at 9 AM PST, so you can only play for a few hours in the morning before the servers go down for some heavy maintenance. They should be back up in 24 hours, pending any problems on Bungie’s side, and players should expect a handful of issues, likely server-related, as everyone attempts to jump into the game simultaneously.

While Destiny 2 is down, the preload for Lightfall can begin. This did happen earlier for PlayStation players, but everyone should gain access to the Lightfall preload once the game goes down for maintenance.

Bungie shared in the TWAB post that the filesize was going to be large, but they did not outline exactly how big it is. Regardless, we recommend all players use the entire downtime to download the game to ensure they’re ready to play. The preload for Lightfall will not be available until this point.

When the servers are back up, Destiny 2 will return, and everyone with access to the Lightfall expansion can start working on the new campaign and the Season of Defiance.