Destiny: Rising

Lore & Background

Destiny: Rising takes place in an alternate timeline, many years before the events of the original Destiny, before the existence of the Tower and Guardians. Following a golden age brought by the entity known as 'The Traveller' and a subsequent 'Collapse' caused by alien invaders, humanity is recovering from a second dark age and entering the early 'City Age.' Creatures called Ghosts, born from the damaged Traveller, resurrect humans capable of wielding its 'Light,' creating Lightbearers. The primary protagonist is a customizable character named Wolf, and the city of Haven serves as a central refuge. Players explore locations across Earth, including the 'icy, ancient' Jiangshi metro and the 'arid' Red Sea Rift, seeking 'seeds of hope' for human civilization. Alien races such as the Vex, Hive, Fallen, and Cabal appear as adversaries.

Reader's Guide

Destiny: Rising represents a significant expansion of the Destiny franchise into mobile gaming, developed by NetEase with Bungie's licensing. Its release on August 28, 2025, marked the first major Destiny mobile title, offering a free-to-play live service model with a gacha system for obtaining characters, which has been described as 'pay-to-win.' The game diverges from mainline Destiny by featuring a roster of pre-defined Lightbearer characters instead of player-created classes, and includes third-person shooter gameplay alongside traditional first-person. It introduces unique elements not present in Destiny 2, such as Sparrow racing, a player housing system, dual-wielding, and mini-games like fishing and a collectible card game called Shadowshaper Duels. The game's alternate timeline setting allows it to explore early City Age lore without affecting the main series canon. Development began well over two years before its announcement, with NetEase granted creative freedom to develop its own concept and story. The game's business model, including energy systems and premium battle passes, aligns with common free-to-play mobile practices.

Did You Know?

• Destiny: Rising was codenamed 'Viper' during development.
• The game includes a roguelike mode called Singularity where players fight waves of enemies using randomized benefits.
• Players can create clans known as Packs to cooperate and build shared spaces.
• The game supports touchscreen, game controller, and mouse and keyboard control schemes, with official emulator support via NetEase's MuMuPlayer.