NetEase reveal Destiny Rising, a new RPG set in the Destiny universe — and players won’t be waiting long to play

First thought to be dead in the water, the long-awaited free-to-play RPG set in Bungie's Destiny universe is coming to a phone near you with NetEase Games announcing Destiny: Rising today, Oct. 14.

The RPG is the first product to emerge from an agreement between Bungie and NetEase, which was originally penned in 2018 for $100 million USD. This partnership saw NetEase claim a minority stake in the Bellevue-based Destiny, Halo, and Marathon developer, but since then, there has been radio silence on proposed products.

Now, we know what NetEase has been hard at work on — and an alpha launch of the game is closer than you might think.

Alongside the game's announcement, NetEase also showed off a trailer for Destiny: Rising, and while certain architecture and enemy types are clearly identifiable, the dev team has made it clear Destiny: Rising is set in "an alternate Destiny universe."

Much of the story is similar: An invasion of Earth known as the Collapse brings about the Dark Age where before guardians we saw Iron Lords, Warlords, and other Lightbearers do battle over swaths of land. It's here where players will find themselves exploring new areas of Earth and beyond.

Post-Collapse, lightbearers will be able to head out into Jiangshi and the Red Sea Rift, new locations on Earth far from the EDZ and the Last City. The Tower is gone (it doesn't exist yet in this timeline), with players meeting up in a new sanctuary, Haven.

"Our partnership team at Bungie has worked to support NetEase in designing Rising to be a game that should be perfect for veterans of the franchise and also appeal to a whole new audience that has yet to experience the world of Destiny," Bungie creative lead Terry Redfield said in an adjacent developer preview.

Story campaign missions, three-player strikes, and six-player Raids feature as endgame PvE content, but the press release for Destiny: Rising also states replayable PvP modes will be available on full launch. Gone are the Hunter, Titan, and Warlock classes, with playstyles and abilities differing from what we know in Destiny today.

For those wanting to play Destiny: Rising early, a closed alpha test will be available on Nov. 1. Sign-ups for the test are now open through the main Destiny: Rising site.

Destiny: Rising is only available on mobile devices so for those looking to play on console or PC, you're out of luck. As for a microtransaction model, it's unclear what route NetEase is taking at this time. The game itself is free-to-play, meaning anyone with a phone can dive right in (the better the phone, the better the experience), but we're also expecting cosmetic items like weapon ornaments or lightbearer outfits to come at a premium.

We're also not sure whether other elements of the Destiny universe will make it to Rising, or vice versa. It would be epic to play through a campaign on the mobile game, then return to the same areas in Destiny 2 in a later expansion — but given Rising is set in an alternate universe, it may not make much sense to link them together in such a way.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Destiny and Destiny: Rising news and coverage!