Destiny beta now open to all, no code required

By Adam Rosenberg Published September 23, 2014

Destiny the Game screenshot 6 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read our full Destiny review.

You can now jump into Bungie’s Destiny beta if you own a PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, or Xbox One, no download code required. We’ve still got several days before the popular and highly publicized beta test concludes on July 27, and this final stretch should give the studio a better sense of what to expect on the September 9 launch.

Bungie clearly feels confident enough in what it’s built to let the full weight of the console gaming Internet descend on this tiny chunk of Destiny‘s grand space adventure. With the exception of not-surprising bottlenecks around the initial beta download, the experience has been surprisingly smooth. Exploration and social spaces are filled with fellow players, and forming Fireteams with friends is a simple process.

To download the beta, simply fire up your console and head to its online store. You can also read Bungie’s announcement right here if you’re curious.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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How to join the Skull and Bones open beta

The pirates stand on the bow of a ship in Skull and Bones key art.

It seems as though the Skull and Bones ship is finally seaworthy and will hit its release on February 16. No one will blame you if you have grown a little weary about the quality of this game after so many years of development and delays. That's where open betas come in. These tests let you play a slice of the game early to see if it will live up to your expectations before investing any cash. Thankfully, Ubisoft is giving any hopeful pirates a chance to test the waters a few days before launch, and everyone is welcome to give it a shot. If you want to commandeer a spot in the open beta, follow our map to the treasure.
How to join the Skull and Bones beta

The open beta is, as expected, open to anyone who wants to play Skull and Bones. All you need is a console or PC on which the game will run, such as a PS5 or an Xbox Series X/S. The beta will begin at 6 p.m. PT on February 7 and end at 3 p.m. PT on February 11, but you can start preloading it as early as 1 a.m. PT on February 6.

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Destiny 2 developer Bungie has broken its silence after laying off around 100 staff members earlier this week. The studio posted a blog update that acknowledged the move and teased a major change in plans for Destiny 2's next big DLC, The Final Shape.

On Monday, October 30, Bungie laid off a sizable chunk of its staff in departments including community, QA, audio, and more. According to a report from IGN, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons cited Destiny 2's declining performance in 2023 as a cause. A report from Bloomberg noted that Bungie's upcoming projects were internally delayed as part of the move, with The Final Shape quietly moving to June 2024.

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A runner runs in Marathon.

Amid a wave of layoffs at Destiny developer and Sony subsidiary Bungie this week, Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Marathon have both reportedly been delayed.
On Monday morning, tweets from developers revealed that Bungie, which was acquired by Sony in January 2022, was suffering layoffs. This was followed up by a report from Bloomberg that went into more detail about the layoffs and their impact on Bungie's future games. Sony and Bungie have not officially commented on the delays yet, although the Bloomberg article mentions that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons will hold a team meeting later today to discuss the layoffs further. This all follows contractor layoffs at Sony studio Naughty Dog earlier this month, which happened as that studio struggles to develop and release a The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bloomberg suggests that these layoffs, like others at Sony this year, are tied to internal game delays. While Destiny 2: The Final Shape is publicly slated to come out in February 2024, Bungie reportedly told staff that it's now going to come out in June 2024. Meanwhile, we learned that Bungie's revival of Marathon was apparently targeting a 2024 launch -- although no release window was given officially -- but will now come out sometime in 2025. These delays make the PlayStation 5's 2024 game lineup look pretty sparse right now outside of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it suggests that Destiny 2's next season will be one of its longest.
As of now, Sony and Bungie have not publicly commented on the layoffs or delays, but we will update this post when they do say more about it.