PS4-only 'Destiny' content will remain exclusive for another year

By Danny Cowan Published August 20, 2016

ps4 only destiny content will remain exclusive for another year destinyex — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Xbox One Destiny players eager to check out the game’s PlayStation 4-exclusive content will have to wait another year before they get their chance, as publisher Activision has extended its PlayStation platform exclusivity period.

The extension applies to the PS4-exclusive items, equipment, and maps featured in Destiny: The Taken King and the upcoming expansion Destiny: Rise of Iron, ensuring that Xbox One players will lag behind their PlayStation 4-owning buddies for at least another year.

Originally slated to hit the Xbox One version of Destiny this fall, Destiny: The Taken King‘s PS4-exclusive content is now slated for a multiplatform release in late 2017, according to a Polygon report.

Activision previously announced that The Taken King‘s platform-specific content would remain exclusive to the PlayStation 4 until “at least Fall 2016.” In the weeks leading up to the launch of Rise of Iron, Activision subsequently bumped The Taken King‘s exclusivity window to next year, matching a planned multiplatform release date for Rise of Iron‘s bonus PlayStation content.

In addition to including a series of new missions and maps across all platforms, Destiny‘s first major expansion The Taken King offered PS4 players an exclusive scout rifle, Vex strike, Crucible map, and three unique armor sets for each of the game’s playable classes. A patch issued in April doled out additional PlayStation-exclusive extras, including a themed Sparrow vehicle, a new sniper rifle, and armor sets for all classes.

The extension marks a shift from Activision’s original multiplatform release strategy for Destiny. PS4-exclusive content from Destiny‘s previous expansions The Dark Below and House of Wolves launched for the Xbox One in September of last year, arriving less than a year after their initial PS4 release. Many players had assumed that Activision would follow a similar release schedule for The Taken King‘s platform-specific content, but this is not the case.

PS4-exclusive content from Destiny: The Taken King and Rise of Iron is now slated to hit the Xbox One in the fall of 2017.

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Inside the unlikely Final Fantasy spinoff that time forgot

King Regis runs through Insomnia in A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV.

Did you know that Square Enix released a retro-inspired beat ’em up based on Final Fantasy XV in 2016?
Even hardcore Final Fantasy fans might not remember the forgotten game well nowadays, but it’s quite the hidden gem. Titled A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV, the unlikely spinoff game was released as a pre-order bonus with Final Fantasy XV. It follows King Regis as he tells Noctis a bedtime story about defeating Ultros, a monstrous crystal thief causing daemons to spawn all over Insomnia and Duscae. In practice, it's a side-scrolling beat ’em up that pays homage to the classic brawlers while implementing Final Fantasy magic, enemies, and more.
A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV Is Available Now For Free!
Though A King’s Tale only lasts an hour and doesn’t have co-op, it’s a polished and exhilarating experience that Final Fantasy fans shouldn’t forget. It was a pleasant surprise to find this deep within my backlog ahead of the fifth anniversary of its stand-alone release, but its existence also raised many questions.
How did this project come to be? Why is it so polished? And why aren't more short but sweet games like this used to excite fans for notable game releases? I spoke to Cord Smith, executive producer and creative director on the project, to learn its history and how this forgotten Final Fantasy spinoff connects with everything from Dead Island to Masters of the Universe to Stranger Things.
At its heart, this is a story about an ambitious marketing agency that created a new kind of game through a multi-studio effort on a tight budget. And it all starts with Dead Island 2.
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In the mid-2010s, Smith worked at a creative agency called Platform. This agency would often produce screenshots and trailers used in the marketing of video games. Around the time Dead Island 2 was in development and set to release, Smith and other people involved with channel marketing at the company pondered whether it could make a retro game that marketing could use to sell a notable game.
Smith asserted that it was possible, but thought it had to be done the right way to avoid producing a bad game. He found game development and animation partners to craft a small but satisfying retro game that could tie into the then soon-to-be-released Dead Island 2.
While his pitch had a high budget, Dead Island 2 developer Deep Silver and Platform accepted it. Smith and his partners now had to build something that wasn’t done much before and hasn’t been done much since. “Sure, it was a promotional game, but we were putting it on console, and we were treating it like a real game project,” Smith tells Digital Trends.

When designing it, Smith and his development partners didn’t have a playable build of Dead Island 2. They got a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of what that game was supposed to be and additional information to draw from. The result of this effort was Dead Island: Retro Revenge, an on-rails beat ’em up set within the Dead Island universe.
“I love taking someone else’s IP and doing something that respects it and honors what they’re doing. but surprises them by where we can take it in spite of our limitations,” Smith explains. Ultimately, Deep Silver and Smith were thrilled with how Retro Revenge turned out. But there was a problem: Dead Island 2 was never released.
“Dead Island 2 did not make it to release, but Dead Island: Retro Revenge did, so they put it in a collection,” he explains. “That was a shame as we didn’t get to see it reach what we built it for. It never got to be the pre-order promotional thing that we wanted.”
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February 2022 will go down as one of the best months for video games ever. From indie platformers to AAA open-world powerhouses, several fantastic games launched to critical acclaim and record-breaking player counts. Because so many great games came out in January and February, it’s not surprising if some players’ missed one -- or more than one.
Seven titles in particular rose above everything else released this month and will be remembered by many gamers for years to come. These are the February 2022 games that players should not miss out on, in no particular order.
Elden Ring
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The latest game from FromSoftware was finally released, and it’s clear that Elden Ring may be a contender for game of the generation. Combining methodical and challenging Soulslike gameplay with a vast and open world like that of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring struck a chord with critics and audiences alike.
Digital Trends gave the game four stars in our review, which was more critical than the general consensus, but we still enjoyed the experience immensely. “Elden Ring is a new gold standard for open-world game design, dishing out some of the best freeform exploration since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” our review states.
Elden Ring seems like it might be the pinnacle of FromSoftware’s Soulslike formula, and it’s a perfect example of what great open-world design looks like. If you somehow haven’t heard about it already, make sure that Elden Ring is on your radar.
Horizon Forbidden West

Both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West have had the honor of being fantastic open-world games … that were released just before other titles that revolutionized the genre. Though Horizon Forbidden West has tons of dialogue and might not be the most innovative open-world game, it’s still gorgeous on PS5 and an enjoyable romp.
“Horizon Forbidden West establishes the Horizon franchise as a power player in Sony’s first-party arsenal,” Giovanni Colantonio wrote in Digital Trends’ four-star review of the game. “It fixes the few blemishes Horizon Zero Dawn had by strengthening its combat and adding better ways to get around the world.”
There aren’t many other games that can match the feeling a player gets when taking down a giant mechanical monster in Horizon Forbidden West. It’s a must-play for PS5 owners, even if Elden Ring is the best open-world game released this month.
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Save $10 by buying Horizon Forbidden West’s PS4 version

Aloy stands on a mountain in Horizon Forbidden West.

Anyone looking to get Horizon Forbidden West and experience Aloy's journey along America's postapocalyptic West Coast can save some cash, as long as they don't mind waiting a bit longer to play.

Horizon Forbidden West is releasing for PS4 and PS5 on February 18, and Sony is offering a free upgrade to anyone who buys the former. And there isn't really any reason to buy the game's PS5 version unless you're picking up a physical copy and want it to come in a PS5 box. Players looking to get the game digitally, on the other hand, can save $10 by simply buying the PS4 version of the game and digitally upgrading to the PS5 version.