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A Destiny Timeline
It's been a long road for developer Bungie and its latest creation, Destiny. We take a look back at some of the events that took place during its development cycle.
October 2007 - Microsoft and Bungie announce that Bungie is splitting off from its parent company. Microsoft holds the rights to the Halo franchise and owns a minority stake in the studio, while Bungie becomes a privately held company.
The press release from Bungie states, "It is also the intent of both parties to expand their partnership to include new IP created and owned by Bungie." The company would go on to put out Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, but the IP referenced never surfaced with Microsoft.
2009 - According to our cover story on Destiny in 2014, Bungie reveals that the game began development five years prior to our story. The game was originally going to be a fantasy RPG.
September 2009 - In Halo 3: ODST developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360, a poster in the game reads, "Destiny Awaits" with a picture of the planet Earth with an orb or moon above it.
April 2010 - Bungie announces a 10-year partnership with Activision to develop new IP which Bungie would own.
February 2011 - Kotaku posts a story from an anonymous ex-Bungie contractor who says that the studio's next project is called Destiny, and is codenamed Tiger. It mixes FPS and MMO with sci-fi.
May 2011 - Destiny is trademarked by Podophobia Entertainment, which is suspected of being a dummy company for Bungie, since it's owned by Bungie president Harold Ryan and composer Marty O'Donnell. The Destiny symbol in the trademark's logo matches that of a t-shirt worn by a Bungie employee in a Penny Arcade video.
August 2011 - Bungie co-founder Jason Jones refers to the company's new title as Project Tiger in a documentary celebrating the company's 20th anniversary. "One reason that Tiger is so intriguing to so many people in the studio is that it's reaching players in a way that we haven't before," he says.
May 2012 - It's revealed through court documents related to Activision's case against former Infinity Ward developers Jason West and Vince Zampella that Activision and Bungie have a deal for four Destiny games, which will be released every other year starting in the fall of 2013. Expansion packs will follow every other year starting in fall of 2014. Bungie later confirms the fall 2013 release date for the still as-yet-announced game.
November 2012 - Destiny details from a marketing campaign are leaked via IGN, which Bungie later confirms. This is our first exposure to The Traveler, its story backbone, the social components, and first art image.
February 2013 - Bungie officially announces Destiny. The game is first announced for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4.
May 2013 - Bungie adds Xbox One to the Destiny's console list.
June 2013 - Destiny is featured at Sony's E3 press conference, revealing live gameplay footage and the fact that the PlayStation 4 version will feature exclusive content.
October 2013 - A beta is announced for the game which will take place in early 2014.
December 2013 - Game Informer reveals its Destiny cover story showcasing new information about the title.
One of the features that changed from our cover story to the release are the sub-classes, which were originally called Focuses.
The release date is also announced for September 9, and the beta for the summer of 2014 - first on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.
April 2014 - Long-time Bungie composer and audio director Martin O'Donnell is let go from Bungie after he completes his work on Destiny. O'Donnell says the termination is "without cause."
May 2014 - Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says that all told, Destiny would cost the company $500 million in development, marketing, and other costs.
June 2014 - At E3 during Sony's press confernce, Sony announces that Destiny's alpha starts later that week first on PlayStation 4 and PS3. The company also says there will be a white PS4 bundle with the game and a free month of PlayStation Plus.
According to Bungie, over six million games were played during the five-day alpha.
July 2014 - The beta starts on PlayStation platforms and later commences on Microsoft's systems. On July 27 the beta closes.
According to Activision, over 4.6 million people played the beta.
In other Destiny news, Bungie and former composer Martin O'Donnell settle a lawsuit O'Donnell filed in June for unpaid time off for over $95,000.
September 9, 2014 - Destiny launches. Activision says that it has sold $500 million worth of Destiny to stores worldwide and that the game was garnered the highest day-one digital console sales of all time.
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