Bungie’s Destiny franchise is coming to a new platform with Destiny: Rising, a new entry designed for for mobile platforms. The free-to-play sci-fi RPG shooter will be a “brand-new adventure set in an alternate Destiny timeline,” developer and publisher NetEase said in a news release, with a narrative that explores the franchise’s post-Dark Age era.
Unlike the blank-slate Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks of Destiny 2, Destiny: Rising will feature playable heroes known as Lightbearers — “a diverse roster of characters, each with unique abilities and stories,” NetEase said. The mobile spinoff promises a shared world, similar to Bungie’s Destiny setting, where players can take part in single-player, cooperative, and competitive multiplayer activities. That includes six-player Strikes and PvE and PvP modes inspired by past Destiny games.
NetEase also promises new modes and new ways to play in Destiny: Rising. The company’s mobile take on Destiny will be playable in both first-person and third-person modes, and can be played via touchscreen controls or dedicated controllers.
According to NetEase, the story of Destiny: Rising will be set in an “unseen era” after the collapse of civilization and the resulting Dark Age. “With the help of legendary Iron Lords, humanity has broken free the shackles of tyranny and began to rally together against the alien forces intent on its extinction,” NetEase said in a story synopsis. “Amidst the chaos of this early age for The City, a new generation of Lightbearers, resurrected by mysterious entities known as Ghosts, set out to restore humanity’s prominence and secure its future.”
NetEase says that each Lightbearer will have their own unique combat style. Players won’t be locked into the defined classes of Destiny 2. But they will wield “countless powerful exotic weapons,” which run the gamut of guns, swords, crossbows, and more.
Destiny: Rising is being licensed by and overseen by Bungie, NetEase says.
“For over a decade, we have built this universe to contain many unique and wonderful stories, and we are excited to see mobile gamers be able to experience this new take on the Destiny universe from the creative team at NetEase,” said Terry Redfield, creative lead at Bungie, in a statement.
Destiny: Rising does not have an announced release date, but a “limited access closed alpha test” is planned for November. Curious Destiny players can sign up for that test at the Destiny: Rising website.
NetEase develops and publishes a number of spinoffs of established franchises, including Diablo Immortal with Blizzard Entertainment, Eve Echoes with CCP, and Dead by Daylight Mobile with Behaviour Interactive. NetEase also publishes original free-to-play hits like Naraka: Bladepoint and Once Human. The Chinese online game company invested more than $100 million in Bungie back in 2018 in an effort to “accelerate Bungie’s vision of becoming a global, multi-franchise entertainment company.”
