With today being Bungie Day, the Destiny developer has given us a bunch of new information about their upcoming title, including news that the beta on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 will begin at 10AM PDT on July 17 and end at 11:59PM PDT on July 27 (Xbox starts on July 23 and ends July 27). The beta will go offline on July 21 – 22 due to scheduled maintenance, so keep that in mind.
Bungie then teased something special for July 26:
Play when you can, but make sure you’re present to be counted on July 26. Not only are we hoping to leave a high watermark for population on that day, we’ll also provide a special reward to those of you who make an appearance in the Tower… or in the frontiers beyond its walls.
Including “a diverse sampling of major activities featured in the full game” – character creation, story missions, cooperative and social activities, competitive multiplayer, and more – anyone who pre-orders Destiny will have guaranteed access to the beta. Then, by playing the beta, you’ll earn an exclusive emblem for the retail version of Destiny, with other surprises expected to be thrown into the beta as well.
Bungie President Harold Ryan had this to say about the beta:
As we prepare to launch our first beta on multiple console platforms around the world, we are excited and eager to open the flood gates. We already love to play Destiny, and with your help we can be ready for our launch in September.
In addition to all the beta news, Bungie announced the Destiny Digital Guardian Edition, Destiny Limited Edition, and Destiny Ghost Edition:
Digital Guardian Edition ($89.99):
- Digital copy of Destiny
- Destiny Expansion Pass
- Early access to Vanguard Armory and Player Emblem pre-order bonus
- Collector’s Edition Digital Content Pack: Unique Ghost Casing, Exclusive Player Emblem, Exclusive Player Ship Variant
Limited Edition ($99.99):
- Limited edition SteelBook Case and Game Disc
- Guardian Folio: Arms & Armament Field Guide, Postcards from the Golden Age, Antique Star Chart
- Collector’s Edition Digital Content Pack: Unique Ghost Casing, Exclusive Player Emblem, Exclusive Player Ship Variant
- Destiny Expansion Pass
Ghost Edition ($149.99):
- Limited edition SteelBook Case and Game Disc
- Guardian Folio: Arms & Armament Field Guide, Postcards from the Golden Age, Antique Star Chart
- Collector’s Edition Digital Content Pack: Unique Ghost Casing, Exclusive Player Emblem, Exclusive Player Ship Variant
- Destiny Expansion Pass
- Ghost replica, featuring motion-activated lights and voice recordings from award-winning actor Peter Dinklage, voice of the Ghost character, the player’s personal companion in the game
- Letter of Introduction
- Golden Age Relics, which include a Photo, Patch, Sticker and two Chrome slides of the Traveler
Included in the collector’s editions, that Destiny Expansion Pass is a Season Pass of sorts for Destiny that includes access to the two upcoming expansion packs (separately it costs $34.99 for the pass, $19.99 each for the expansions). The Expansion Pass will add brand new story missions, cooperative activities and competitive multiplayer arenas, and a wealth of all new weapons, armor, and gear to earn, which you can read a small bit about below:
- Expansion I: The Dark Below – Set deep beneath the surface of the Moon, fans will discover an ancient tomb that has been unsealed, and a dark god who has risen an evil army in the depths of the Hellmouth, the home of the Hive enemy race.
- Expansion II: House of Wolves – details will be revealed later.
- PlayStation platforms will also include additional exclusive content for Expansion I and II and will remain exclusive until at least Fall of 2015.
Which version of Destiny are you planning on buying?
[Source: Bungie (1), (2)]
