‘Destiny 2’ Is Getting Hoverboards, Which Is Honestly What It Needs Right Now

Through datamining, relatively straightforward predictions and Bungie-broadcast plans, it is a bit rare to actually be surprised in Destiny 2 anymore. That was not the case yesterday when Bungie rolled out a new reveal that the normally ho-hum Guardian Games event would bring the arrival of something completely new: Hoverboards, known in the game as “Skimmers.”

At first I thought this was just a variant of sparrows, but it turns out Skimmers are an entirely new type of surfboard-like vehicle that goes in the same slot. Bungie has been working on it since last summer, and somehow kept it a secret this entire time. Now, two boards will arrive when Guardian Games hits next week, one you can earn for free and one “inspired by a beloved weapon” that will be for sale in Eververse. Given that every season and holiday event brings a bunch of new paid sparrows, you can bet this is going to be a frequently used microtransaction. Though some activities do reward special sparrows too.

The hoverboard is not just a sparrow reskin. You can do tricks like kickflips and stuff, but more importantly you can grind. Yes, grind like SSX Tricky or Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. I was a little confused on what exactly you would be grinding on, given that there are not all that many rails or curbs just lying around Destiny environments, but the answer appears to be just…everything. Anything with physical geometry, it sounds like, and my mind reels a bit with the technical challenges of that and what that may look like in practice. My prediction: A lot of cool montage videos and a whole lot of glitches and stuck Guardians. But we’ll see.

I said in my title that this is exactly what Destiny 2 needs right now, and what I mean by that is that this is just…a breath of fresh air. Something to combat all the negativity with the game right now. These Skimmers got the community laughing and meme-ing again after weeks and weeks of nothing significant happening with the game. News about the game has mostly involved a giant slew of PvP updates which are fine, but not the most exciting thing to parse. But hoverboards? Hoverboards? Very fun.

Yes, players will note that this is something that Warframe has had for ages, and others will say that they “can’t believe” Bungie is spending time making something like this when there are so many other problems with the game. But to that I say…lighten up. Destiny 2 has been missing fun surprises like this for ages now, and in a somewhat bleak year for the game, I consider this a useful investment of time, and it will certainly be something worth playing Guardians Games for if you were planning to skip it, and it’s good that you can get at least one as a free unlock (even as I do expect this to be a major microtransaction class going forward).

So yeah, it’s a win. You celebrate those where you can.

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