After two years of dodging leaks and rumors, Halo developers Bungie are finally ready to reveal information about their new game Destiny. From the information they shared, it seems the game is going to be quite ambitious.
Set in a future version of our Galaxy, Destiny is a “persistent-world” console shooter that will allow players to customize their characters and gear to take on quests and defeat evil. The world of Destiny doesn’t rely on a single hero for salvation, but a community of Guardians, all exploring the galaxy in an effort to save the system and craft their unique legends.
Despite the heavy focus on multiplayer, you will be able to experience the game in single-player with a catch that the game has to always be connected to the internet in order to “realize the vision of the game,” Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg says “that’s the only reason for that restriction,” to the always-on requirement. He later added that there is “absolutely no plans to charge a subscription fee.” Walking away from that statement makes us assume that the shooter will have some MMO properties, however Bungie stated that the network code will constantly work to match players within proximity to each other and that you won’t expect to see hundreds of characters meeting in a town square. “[The] amount of players you see is design controlled,” Bungie COO Pete Parsons said, adding it’s “not about stuffing as many people in there as possible.”
The game is currently set for PS3 and Xbox 360 with mobile apps coming to bring stats, quest and community information to players. Destiny is the first of a 10 year publishing deal with Activision.