Destiny 2 dev explains why that iconic weapon was in a Lightfall cutscene

What you need to know

• When Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion launched last month, many players were confused by the fact that its final cutscene featured their Guardian using the Khvostov 7G-02 Auto Rifle instead of their equipped weapon.
• This weapon is the first one that players can acquire in either Destiny game, and an Exotic version was added to the original Destiny in 2016’s Rise of Iron expansion. As a result, many have a soft-spot for the iconic firearm.
• Many speculated that the weapon’s appearance in Lightfall was hinting at the return of the Exotic variant to Destiny 2.
• In a new blog post, Bungie’s Cinematics Director James Myers explained that the weapon was used in the cutscene because the studio needed a “default weapon” to use for carefully animated scenes that wouldn’t look right with Bows, Glaives, and some other weapon archetypes.

When Destiny 2’s new Lightfall expansion arrived in February and fans played through its story campaign, they noticed something strange about its final cutscene: instead of showing the player’s Guardian with one of their currently equipped weapon like Destiny cinematics usually do, it depicts them with the Khvostov 7G-02 Auto Rifle instead. Notably, this is the very first weapon players can acquire in both Destiny games, and eventually, a highly customizable Exotic version was added to the original title in 2016’s Rise of Iron expansion. As a result, the weapon is quite iconic, and has a special place in the hearts of many Destiny fans.

Ever since Lightfall’s launch, fans have wondered why the Khvostov was included in this scene, and also where it came from since the weapon appears regardless of whether there’s a Khvostov in your inventory or not. Some speculated that Bungie was teasing the return of the Exotic variant, while others thought it might have been chosen specifically for its reflex sight as the cutscene shows the player’s Guardian aiming carefully. In a new blog post, though, Bungie’s Cinematics Director James Myers offered concrete answers.

“During the production of Lightfall, a certain story beat was pitched related to reluctantly aiming a weapon, and we quickly realized that we would need to animate that moment much more specifically than we typically handle Guardians pointing weapons in previous scenes,” Myers explained. “Many players have noticed some of the sillier results in some real-time scenes, even when we avoid extreme poses (like our Guardian holding a Bow at the end of The Witch Queen.) So, I … suggested that we decide on a “default weapon” that we could feature if we ever needed something specific like this. I suggested the Khvostov because it’s the very first weapon every player receives in Destiny. Literally every Guardian has tinkered around with this weapon, so it felt like the right call.”

“At the same time, new systems were being developed that would feature Guardians (like Commendations), and similarly, there were a lot of visual bugs popping up with certain weapons like Glaives and Bows,” Myers continued. “The animation team was stretched thin closing on cinematics, and a new set of animations was, unfortunately, something that would cost us other content. Because of that, we made the decision to use the same default logic in the instances where a visual bug would detract from the quality bar we aim to achieve.”