Beloved studio Bungie's long-running sci-fi looter shooter Destiny is coming to smartphones, though not from that company. NetEase, the Chinese publisher and developer of various Marvel and Blizzard mobile games, is behind the new game Destiny: Rising -- and players in the US and Canada can sign up for a closed alpha playtest on Nov. 1.
From the looks of Destiny: Rising's first trailer, NetEase has taken a similar approach to the one it used with its successful Diablo Immortal game in adapting the core look and feel of the base games to their mobile counterparts. It combines over-the-shoulder shooting that switches to first-person when aiming down the sights of guns, and looks packed with Vex, Fallen, Hive and other classic Destiny enemies.
Destiny: Rising will be free-to-play and is set long before Destiny 2 -- indeed, it's "a new take on Destiny set in an alternate universe with its own timeline," Terry Redfield, creative lead at Bungie, said in a developer preview video. The developer partnered with NetEase to create a mobile version bringing the sci-fi universe and loot-shooting vibes of Destiny to a new audience. Siloing the game in an alternate universe seems intentional to free up development between NetEase's game and Bungie's Destiny 2.
Destiny: Rising's timeline begins before the Last City exists and the Guardians emerge as a peacekeeping force, said NetEase art director Alex Yan in the developer video. That roughly occurs after the Dark Ages of the Destiny timeline, though we'll see how it diverges from the existing Destiny timeline. Developers specifically mentioned Iron Lords and Warlords, who are the regional powers lingering in that period before the newly formed Guardians get them in line. Player-resurrecting Ghosts and near-magical Light abilities will still be in the game.
How will the story be different from Destiny 2? As it's set in an earlier age, players won't have the rigid guidelines of the Guardians -- this is a time before the hunter, titan and warlock classes. Players will pick between specific pre-built characters instead, each with their own playstyle and backstory. But some familiar faces will return.
Destiny: Rising will have missions, strikes and six-player PvE activities inherited from Destiny 2, as well as unspecified new gameplay modes. It will feature new weapons as well as returning favorites -- Sweet Business was briefly shown in the developer video, but this concept art for available weapons shows what look like the Huckleberry and Monte Carlo exotic weapons alongside a new crossbow weapon type. There's also a new rarity above exotic, called mythic.
The Destiny: Rising team is "still quite early in our development phase" for the game, though they noted that the trailers all showed current in-game footage. Aside from the closed alpha playtest coming next month, it's unclear what the timeline for release is or when players will be able to get their hands on the game next.
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