Destiny's first expansion, The Dark Below, has released today in the U.S. and Europe, and eager fans can explore all the new content and storyline for only $20. But perhaps even more exciting news comes from Destiny developer Bungie who said today that all progression you make with your character will carry over to the game's sequel.

The Dark Below introduces plenty of new content including new weapons, new armor, an increased Light Level to 32, a new raid, a new strike, new crucible maps, and a dynamic new storyline.

"After years hiding amongst the Hive shadows, a new character, Eris, has come forth bearing an ominous warning: The Hive seek to summon a god, Crota, to destroy the Earth," the game's official site describes. "Find her in the Tower to complete her quests and three new story missions, increase your Light, and earn the weapons and armor you'll need to face what waits in the dark below."

According to a recent interview at IGN, the big news accompanying the expansion's release is the fact that your game's progress will persist to the game's sequel. That's right, we're only one expansion in and there's already talk of a sequel!

"The idea is that the Guardian you have created is something you can bring along with you on that adventure." Bungie's David "DeeJ" Dague said during the interview. "If you take a look at the way people have played other games for a long period of time, they've had a relationship with the same character for a very long time."

The sequel itself is not news, as it's been announced previously as part of publisher Activision's large investment into the Destiny name, but this carry-over news is certainly welcome for those who remained sceptical about building their character when a sequel would potentially replace everything anyway.

Dague is optimistic about the direction of the sequel, although no development status has been given at this point. "It's been no secret that we have a ten-year plan for the expansion and evolution of this franchise, and it's something that we're always dreaming about," he said.

"I've seen new concept art, I've seen new exotic weapons up on people's screens...it's a lot of fun to walk around the studio, because there's always somebody thinking about the next place you'll go, the next enemy you'll fight, the next thing that you'll earn for doing those things," he added.

For those who have yet to purchase the latest expansion, be aware that this week's heroic strikes or nightfall missions won't be available until that purchase is made.

"All existing strikes and maps are still accessible," Bungie clarified to IGN. "Specific activities like nightfall will periodically feature expansion 1 content on the week the newest content is live. New public events, updated weapons and gear, new bounties, and of course the steady stream of updates are all available without additional cost to all players."

"While this situation wouldn't normally affect Guardians, high-level Destiny players who haven't paid for the expansion are at a standstill, as the vanilla strikes are gone for the week," IGN states. "Any existing weekly strikes have been replaced by the new featured content, The Will of Crota. This means anyone depending on the heroic strikes for high-level rewards will have to wait until the content rotates next Tuesday, or buy the expansion."

PlayStation 4 players will also get an added bonus: An exclusive co-op strike called Undying Mind. You can pick up The Dark Below at Destiny's official site.