All Articles: Destiny

Bungie plans to release Destiny‘s first expansion, The Dark Below, on December 9. But if you want a sneak peek at the shooter’s first major addition, you should check out the Prologue video above. In The Dark Below, you’ll Crota and the Hive army in a variety of missions on the moon. The expansion will also include new gear and a level cap increase:

Expand your Destiny adventure with a wealth of weapons, armor, and gear earned in new story quests and missions, three new competitive multiplayer arenas, and a new Strike and Raid. Beneath the surface of the Moon, a long-forgotten enemy stirs. Survive the true depths of the Hellmouth, and stop its dark army from invading Earth.

The Dark Below will be available as part of Destiny’s Season Pass or as an individual download.

While Destiny didn’t quite set the gaming world on fire, it did sell a lot of copies. So surely someone out there will be excited to learn that Bungie will release the game’s first expansion on December 9. Priced at $19.99 (or free as part of the Destiny Season Pass), Expansion I: The Dark Below will add new weapons and armor to the game, raise the level cap to 32, and include multiple new story quests:

After years hiding amongst the Hive shadows, a new character, Eris, has come forth bearing an ominous warning: The Hive seek to summon a god, Crota, to destroy the Earth. Find Eris in the Tower to take on special quests that include three new missions where you will increase your Light and earn new rewards.

The Dark Below will also include three new competitive multiplayer maps, a new co-operative Strike, and a new Raid:

• “The Will of Crota” (Strike), pits you and your Fireteam against Omnigul as she works to expand the Hive army at the command of her master, Crota.
• “Crota’s End” (Raid), set deep within the depths of the Hellmouth.
• “Pantheon” (Competitive Map), set deep within the Black Garden in an ancient Vex temple that features Vex-designed landscapes and tight corridors
• “Skyshock” (Competitive Map), an old interplanetary defence array that offers both vehicle and infantry engagements.
• “The Cauldron” (Competitive Map), an abandoned Hive ritual site that offers close-quarter combat.

Finally, Destiny players on the PS3 or PS4 will receive access to multiple pieces of exclusive content including another Strike (“The Undying Mind”), an Exotic weapon, and more. These gametypes and items won’t be available on the Xbox 360 or Xbox One until “at least Autumn 2015.”

Opinions on Bungie’s Destiny seem to be split (its average score at Metacritic is current in the high 70s), but publisher Activision is definitely pleased with how many copies they’ve sold. In its first five days of availability, Destiny grossed more than $325 million. At $60 a pop, that averages out to more than five million copies sold, obliterating the previous sales record for an original property, which was set by Watch Dogs back in May.

“Destiny fans played more than 100 million hours of the game in the first week. That’s on par with the engagement levels of our most popular Call of Duty games, which obviously is an industry leader,” said Eric Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision Publishing. “Millions of gamers are having a great time playing Destiny and can’t put down their controllers. And this is just the beginning. Destiny is a platform that will grow and evolve and we will continue to work closely with our partners at Bungie to bring a long line of new experiences and content to life in the game.”

Destiny is currently available for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Yesterday, Bungie launched “Vault of Glass,” a unique in-game event exclusively for players who’ve reached Level 26.