Activision and Bungie announced today that the beta for the upcoming video game Destiny will be released on July 17th.
The beta will be available for players who own a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 3 to sign in at 10 a.m. PT, according to . Owners of the Xbox One and Xbox 360 will be able sign on to the beta on July 23rd. The beta will stop running at 11:59 p.m. PT on July 27th, but it will be offline on July 21st and 22nd for maintenance.
Bungie and Activision said "a diverse sampling of major activities featured in the full game" will be included in the Destiny beta. While players who pre-order the game will be able to participate, they are urged by the Destiny website to redeem their beta codes soon since beta access will only be available "while beta codes last."
Three other special editions of Destiny were also announced, and include Destiny Digital Guardian Edition ($89.99), Destiny Limited Edition ($99.99), Destiny Ghost Edition ($149.99), Joystiq reported. A copy of the game is included with each edition, as is the Destiny Expansion Pass, which gives players access to two expansions that are planned to be released in the future.
A Guardian Folio and a Collector's Edition Digital Digital Content Pack are featured in both the Ghost and Limited Edition, PC Magazine reported.
Activision and Bungie described Destiny as a game in which "players are cast as Guardians of the last city on Earth, who will explore the ancient ruins of our solar system from the red dunes of Mars to the lush jungles of Venus." They added that players "must battle humanity's enemies and reclaim all that was lost during the collapse of mankind's Golden Age."
The two companies are reportedly spending $500 million on the game to make sure it is a hit.
Destiny is set to be available on Sept. 9th.
