The Destiny universe has always had a lot going on beneath the surface. There are players like me, who mostly jump in to find new guns and shoot magical space monsters, but others have dug deeply into the lore, and a recent piece of dialogue introduced in the latest Invitations of the Nine quest, reinforces a theory that breaks the fourth wall and refers to the human players sitting on the other side of the screen.
GamesRadar+ has written up a quick primer on this fan theory that’s been kicking around the Destinyverse for the past several months. The basic idea is that the Emissary is aware that Destiny 2 is a game, and that she’s acting as a go-between for Destiny 2 players and the game itself, not just the Guardians and The Nine. There’s a new interaction between the Emissary and The Nine that points heavily to this, with the Emissary referring to a being that has “agency like you wouldn’t believe” and who can “leave this game.”
The Nine are confused by this, and the Emissary gives up trying to explain.