The next chapter in the Destiny saga is approaching, but it isn’t in the form most Guardians were expecting. Instead of a proper Destiny 3 from the original developer Bungie, Destiny: Rising was revealed by developer NetEase Games as a free-to-play mobile game. While the mobile market has no doubt come a long way in terms of delivering console-quality experiences, Destiny fans are rightly cautious about how the massive live-service formula will translate. Perhaps even more important is the story, which some have invested over 10 years into. Let us act as your Ghost to guide you through all the information you need about Destiny: Rising.
Release date speculation
NetEase Games didn’t give us a release window for Destiny: Rising when the game was revealed, so all we can do is speculate. Based on the fact that there is a closed Alpha in November 2024, we predict that the game won’t launch for at least a year after that to allow for another couple of open betas in 2025.
When an official date or window is shared, we will update this section.
Platforms
The biggest shakeup from past titles is that Destiny: Rising will be a mobile exclusive for iOS and Android devices. If you want to see if your specific phone model will be able to run Destiny: Rising, check out the official website here for details. There appear to be no plans to add any PC or console ports, so make sure your mobile device is charged if you intend on grinding for some legendary loot.
Trailers
The announcement trailer is mostly focused on gameplay but does feature some very impressive visuals and action that almost look as good as its console siblings. The biggest detail the trailer shows off is that we won’t be making our own Guardian as we normally have, but instead we’ll be playing as defined characters. Some of these are familiar faces to the Destiny world, while a few are new. A few we can look forward to playing as include Ikora Rey, Iron Lord Jolder, and Kabr. Each one is said to have their own background and personality, so it is possible there may be narrative payoffs to playing the story as each character, if not unique storylines for each one.
Destiny: Rising takes place in an alternate timeline to the core Destiny games, but is also set in the distant past. We will be experiencing a different series of events, with humanity recovering from the Collapse and working toward the creation of the Last City. Being an alternate universe, we don’t suspect Destiny: Rising to influence the main Destiny lore much (if at all) but instead stay as a self-contained narrative.
Gameplay
The transition to mobile hasn’t drastically altered the gameplay for Destiny: Rising. This is still a FPS with a heavy emphasis on abilities and unique weapons, although now you can also play the game entirely in third-person if you prefer. From what we’ve seen, it looks to be as faithful as possible in maintaining the core systems of Destiny. There will still be open zones to explore, guns and loot to grind, and a mix of PvP and PvE content to enjoy. The game will have touchscreen control options but is made with controllers in mind.
NetEase promises many of the same game modes we’re already familiar with for both PvE and PvP content. This includes a new set of Campaign missions, Haven Ops strikes, and a new raid-like mode called Gauntlet Ops. New modes to look forward to include Morgran’s Prey, Legacy, and Realms of the IX, but no details were shared about what exactly these will be.
Your loadouts will be changed a bit in Destiny: Rising, which now only allows for a primary and power weapon to be carried. Furthermore, what types of weapons and abilities you have will depend on which character you’re playing. Relics will determine what super and signature abilities you have, plus a set of perks.
Preorder
Destiny: Rising has no release date or window as of yet, but there wouldn’t be a need to preorder even if it did. This is going to be a free-to-play game whenever it launches, so there’s no barrier to entry.