Destiny’s alternate-timeline mobile game is launching this August

Destiny: Rising, the free-to-play mobile version of Bungie’s long-running sci-fi shooter series, has been given a release date. It’ll officially be whisking players away for some alternate-timeline shenanigans when it comes to Android and iOS on 28th August.

Announced last October, Destiny: Rising is a collaboration between Bungie and Chinese publisher NetEase, and is officially described as a “shared world” adventure set in an “alternate Destiny timeline, exploring a narrative in the post-Dark Age era”. It’s a result of a partnership the two companies initially announced – albeit in vague terms – back in 2018.

After a period of closed alpha testing that began last November, Destiny: Rising is almost ready for its full launch, which’ll see players – in the role of a “fully customisable” Lightbearer named Wolf – embarking on a sci-fi adventure stretching from the sanctuary of Haven to the “icy, ancient metro of Jiangshi, and the arid expanse of the Red Sea Rift.”

Destiny’s familiar looter-shooter action is said to remain at the heart of the experience, and there’s talk of “dynamic and challenging” single-player, co-op, and competitive multiplayer gameplay, plus various open-world objectives, missions, strikes, PvP battles, and six-player PvE activities. That’s alongside customisable Primary and Power Weapons, the ability for characters to share compatible weapons across their arsenal, a new Mythic rarity gear tier, and more.

In a bid to encourage pre-registrations ahead of Destiny: Rising’s 28th August release, NetEase is holding a pre-launch event that’ll provide special in-game bonuses to anyone that registers their interest ahead of time. More rewards unlock as new registration milestones are crossed, and if that sounds like the sort of thing you want to support, you should direct your attention to Google Play or the App Store.

As for Daddy Destiny (or Destiny 2, if you must), Bungie recently announced its next major multi-year story arc, the Fate Saga. It begins with a new paid expansion, titled The Edge of Fate, that arrives on 15th July alongside a free “core game update” for all players. Weirder is this year’s second paid expansion, Renegades, which launches on 2nd December and promises to be “integral” to Destiny 2’s new Fate Saga, despite its Star Wars theme.