Activision is putting a lot of marketing dollars into its forthcoming release of Destiny, the latest science fiction-oriented shooter from the Halo developers over at Bungie. However, from the looks of the company’s recent playable beta, it’s got nothing to worry about.
The beta, which began on July 17th on PlayStation consoles before heading to the Xbox systems six days later, came to a conclusion this past Sunday, and, according to the publisher, it’s managed to draw a huge crowd. Over 4.6 million unique players participated in the beta during one point or another, a huge number for a pre-release.
“This is the biggest beta of this console generation by a wide margin and the largest console beta ever for a new video game IP to date,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Hosting a beta at this scale is an incredible feat, so we’re thrilled to see the phenomenal response. But the beta is just a taste of what’s to come. We’re counting down the days to our launch day, September 9th.”
“We were totally blown away by the number of people who played the beta,” said Pete Parsons, COO of Bungie. “We surpassed even our own goals and the feedback was invaluable. We cannot thank the community enough, the response was humbling and in the weeks ahead we’ll be working hard to ensure that Destiny lives up to the expectations at launch.”
Destiny tells a completely different tale than most shooters, revolving around a mysterious sphere and chosen warriors determined to save the galaxy by any means. It’s certainly one that Halo fans will be familiar with, while throwing in some new elements, including the ability to ride a powered jet bike (to get around levels faster) and being able to participate in simultaneous live multiplayer battles for additional rewards.
Destiny will release on September 9th for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.
Source: Activision
