Month: January 2019

While there’s a certain amount of unavoidable uncertainty when something atypical like the Bungie-Activision split happens, Destiny 2 fans needn’t worry, at least about the immediate future of the game. The company insists it isn’t abandoning the plans it’s already outlined for Destiny 2, which will see new content continue to be released in the months ahead.

“Today is a big news day for Bungie. Change is afoot for us,” wrote Bungie’s David Dague on Twitter. “Our plans for Destiny are unchanged. All of these game updates are still on the calendar.” The tweet included the image below that outlines Destiny 2’s roadmap new content between now and the end of August. That includes both free and paid additions, the latter of which will be available to those who have purchased Destiny 2’s Annual Pass. Among other things, the game will add another new Raid, Exotics, seasonal events, a “Gambit experience,” and much more.

Bungie’s weekly blog post, This Week at Bungie, has been on hiatus recently due to the holidays. It was scheduled to resume today, but likely due to the big news, it’s been pushed until Friday, January 11, Dague confirmed on Twitter. It will feature “the latest details on the Destiny player experience,” he said, but don’t expect it to offer up any further specifics regarding the split from Activision. “We don’t have more news to report on the business of the franchise,” he said.

Despite Bungie taking control of Destiny, Destiny 2 will remain on Blizzard Battle.net, the Activision Blizzard-owned gaming platform.

The announcement of the split comes amid apparent tension between the two companies. Last year, following Forsaken’s release, Activision said it had been a commercial disappointment. This prompted Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith to respond, saying, “We are not disappointed with Forsaken.”

Regarding Bungie assuming control of the Destiny series, the studio said, “The planned transition process is already underway in its early stages, with Bungie and Activision both committed to making sure the handoff is as seamless as possible.

With Forsaken, we’ve learned, and listened, and leaned in to what we believe our players want from a great Destiny experience. Rest assured there is more of that on the way. We’ll continue to deliver on the existing Destiny roadmap, and we’re looking forward to releasing more seasonal experiences in the coming months, as well as surprising our community with some exciting announcements about what lies beyond.

Thank you so much for your continued support. Our success is owed in no small part to the incredible community of players who have graced our worlds with light and life. We know self-publishing won’t be easy; there’s still much for us to learn as we grow as an independent, global studio, but we see unbounded opportunities and potential in Destiny. We know that new adventures await us all on new worlds filled with mystery, adventure, and hope. We hope you’ll join us there.”

This week was a big one for Destiny, as the last piece of big content from the Black Armory expansion was released. This was marked by the start of a complex new puzzle for players–specifically, the most hardcore fans and streamers–to crack. Their success would open the fourth and final Black Armory forge activity. However, after more than a day only resulted in a partial completion, Bungie decided to go ahead and unlock the Bergusia Forge for all players.

One of the biggest surprises to emerge from The Game Awards last month was Mortal Kombat 11, the next installment in the long-running fighting series. Developer NetherRealm unveiled the title with a brutal trailer, and now series co-creator Ed Boon has given us a glimpse at its cover.

Boon revealed the game’s cover artwork on his official Twitter account. Much like Mortal Kombat X‘s cover, it’s very minimalistic, featuring a single character: series mainstay Scorpion, who appeared in the game’s reveal trailer alongside another MK veteran, Raiden. You can take a look at the art below.

NetherRealm hasn’t announced many details about Mortal Kombat 11 yet, but based on its reveal trailer, it appears the series’ trademark gore is very much intact. The developer has also teased the game will feature a “time bending story,” which was hinted at in the trailer; after Raiden dispatches Scorpion, another Scorpion–dressed in the character’s classic garb–appears and continues the fight.

Fans will get their first extended look at Mortal Kombat 11 on January 17, when NetherRealm broadcasts a reveal event on Twitch. The game is scheduled to launch a little later this year, on April 23. It’s coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch, and those who pre-order a copy will receive Shao Kahn as a playable character.

PS4 and Xbox One owners have an added incentive to pre-order the game, as doing so will get you access to a pre-launch beta. The test will be held for those two platforms sometime in March, although further details have yet to be announced.