Here's when Destiny 2's live event kicks off the Beyond Light launch

Each year since the 2017 release of Destiny 2, developer Bungie has released a hefty annual update every fall to expand the massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game. These updates introduce new story content and a slew of new weapons.

The 2020 installment, Beyond Light, introduces a new energy element called Stasis based on the franchise's enigmatic Darkness. That translates to a fourth new subclass for Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters — the three playable core classes.

To celebrate the launch of Beyond Light on November 10, Bungie is also hosting an in-game event of a sort before the game undergoes downtime leading into the new update.

Here's everything you need to know when it's happening and how to get in on the action.

What time is the Destiny 2 live event before Beyond Light?

Bungie teased in a November 5 email to players some kind of "finale" before the end of the Season of Arrivals.

"Be sure to catch the finale of the Season and see the conclusion before Beyond Light releases," the email reads. Based on a tweet from Game Director Luke Smith later that day, however, this may have been an unintended teaser.

"We have a small event to close out Season of Arrivals," he wrote. "We wanted it to be a surprise but an email accidentally mentioned it! It's nothing too crazy, just a little time to chill in the Tower before the Lights go out."

Based on the timeline for maintenance leading into the update (more on that below), it seems like this mysterious event will occur just after 7 p.m. ET after active players are removed from activities and required to download a small update before logging in again. It's unclear exactly what might happen, but speculation from Forbes' Paul Tassi suggests that the Traveler — the massive orb that grants player Guardians their Light powers — might heal itself.

Alternatively, for "Lights" to go out (capitalized like a proper noun!) could mean that players might lose their Ghosts' power, similar to the start of Destiny 2's core campaign. This would make sense when a key part of Beyond Light will involve the player harnessing the power of Darkness instead. As a plot thread that might feel pretty repetitive, but the franchise has recycled concepts before.

No matter what, anyone interested should log on around 7 p.m. ET to experience the "small event."

Can you pre-load the Destiny 2: Beyond Light update 3.0.0.1?

Yes! Pre-loads for the Beyond Light update — referred to as the 3.0.0.1 update — are already live on some platforms. If auto-update is enabled on your console and you've logged on, it's possible that it was already updated.

Pre-loads on PlayStation 4 began on November 8 at 11 p.m. ET. PS4 players can update by following each of these steps:

• Navigate to Destiny 2 on your console
• Press the “Options” button
• Select “Check for Updates”

Pre-load on Xbox consoles and PC should begin around 10 p.m. ET on November 9

What is the Destiny 2 update 3.0.0.1 file size?

Across all platforms, the rough file size for the Beyond Light update is around 70 GB, but here's a more breakdown from Bungie's November 5 "This Week at Bungie" blog post about the specific update storage requirements.

• Xbox Series X | S — 65.7 GB (Destiny 2), 65.7 GB (Beyond Light)
• PlayStation 5 — 70.78 GB (Destiny 2), 70.78 GB (Beyond Light)
• PlayStation 4 70.78 GB (Destiny 2), 171.68 GB (Beyond Light)
• Xbox One — 65.7 GB (Destiny 2), 65.7 GB (Beyond Light)
• PC — 69.7 GB (Destiny 2), 186.2 GB (Beyond Light)

When does Destiny 2 maintenance start for Beyond Light?

Bungie outlined a timeline of events leading up to the Beyond Light launch in its November 5 blog post. While background maintenance for the major update will begin as early as 6:30 p.m. ET, the game won't be fully taken offline for maintenance until 10 p.m. ET.

Here's a quick rundown of the timeline:

• November 9, 6:30 p.m. ET — Background maintenance for Update 3.0.0.1 will begin.
• November 9, 7 p.m. ET — In preparation for downtime, players will be removed from activities and will be required to download a small update before logging in again.
• November 9, 9:50 p.m. ET — Sign-on for Destiny 2 will be disabled.
• November 9, 10 p.m. ET — Destiny 2 will be brought offline for expected maintenance. Players will be removed from activities and won't be able to log back into Destiny 2 until 9 AM PST on November 10.
• November 10, 12 p.m. ET — Destiny 2 Update 3.0.0.1 will be available across all platforms and regions. Players will be able to log back into Destiny 2.
• November 10, 3 p.m. ET — Destiny 2 maintenance is expected to conclude.

When is the Destiny 2: Beyond Light release time?

While Beyond Light will be officially released on November 10, the maintenance for the update isn't expected to conclude until about 3 p.m. ET that afternoon. So anyone hoping to boot up Destiny 2 first thing in the morning to enjoy the new expansion will have to wait several more hours.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light will be released November 10, 2020.