Destiny

***Destiny*** was released on September 9, 2014, and it is the first game in the Destiny franchise. It was developed by Bungie and published by Activision, acting as Bungie's first release since departing from Microsoft and the Halo franchise. The title brought the shared world looter-shooter subgenre to popular culture.

Bungie took advantage of their history with Halo to give *Destiny* its solid first-person shooter backbone. This was combined with elements of role-playing games and massively multiplayer online games to create a fresh style of gameplay. Add the rich lore and worldbuilding elements as Bungie did, and the result is a title truly unique for its time. One which paved ground for others to follow.

## Premise and World

The world of Destiny takes elements from many influences, particularly science fiction and fantasy. Its story begins in a post-apocalypse during the 28th century, in a world where humanity had colonized the solar system. But not before a strange entity known as the Traveler arrived, eventually terraforming many of the planets and moons of the solar system. Humankind was thrust into a new Golden Age, however, it would not last. The Darkness, an ancient enemy of the Traveler, would find its way to Sol. And when it did, it inflicted upon humanity an event now known as The Collapse. This would render the Traveler dormant, and humanity nearly extinct. However, as it fell into its slumber, the Traveler released the Ghosts. Small robotic consciousnesses that had the power to resurrect the dead, and bestow upon them the power of the Light. In the time since the collapse, many alien races had taken hold of parts of the solar system. These races would include the desperate Fallen, the vicious Hive, the mysterious Vex, and the warmongering Cabal. Eventually, with this new power granted by the Traveler through its Ghosts, humanity and its Guardians would regroup and rebuild. Forming the Last Safe City on Earth, nested securely underneath the Traveler, from which they could begin to reclaim their lost system.

## Characters

* The Ghost
* The Speaker
* Exo Stranger
* Zavala
* Cayde-6
* Ikora Rey
* Mara Sov
* Uldren Sov
* Sol Progeny
* Atheon, Time's Conflux
* Lord Saladin
* Xûr, Agent of the Nine
* Amanda Holliday
* Master Rahool
* The Templar
* Sepiks Prime
* Phogoth, the Untamed
* Sekrion, Nexus Mind
* Aksor, Archon Priest
* Valus Ta'aurc
* Kolar, Psion Flayer
* Numoc, Psion Flayer
* Vatch, Psion Flayer

## Plot

Destiny's narrative follows the story of a newly resurrected Guardian, the character of the player. Upon being revived in the Cosmodrome on Earth, the Guardian is brought to the Tower in the Last City and thrust into life as a Guardian of humanity. The Guardian is found to be particularly powerful and brave, as they face the Fallen, discover and survive the Hive on Earth, pursue the Vex on Venus, and confront the Cabal on Mars. Eventually making their way to the mysterious Black Garden, by the guidance of the Exo Stranger, and the assistance from the Awoken Queen of the Reef. Where they, alone with their Ghost, defeat the Heart of the Black Garden. Preventing it from continuing to feed off of the Traveler's Light, allowing the Traveler to begin to heal itself.

## Launch Editions

 Digital Guardian Edition
* Expansion Pass
* Collector's Edition Digital Content Pack
	+ Frontier Ghost Shell
	+ *Inner Circle* Emblem
	+ Valkyrie O5-X Ship
 Limited Edition
* Expansion Pass
* *Destiny* Steelbook Case
* Collector's Items
* Collector's Edition Digital Content Pack
	+ Frontier Ghost Shell
	+ *Inner Circle* Emblem
	+ Valkyrie O5-X Ship
 Ghost Edition
* Expansion Pass
* *Destiny* Steelbook Case
* Collector's Items
* Frontier Ghost Replica
* Collector's Edition Digital Content Pack
	+ Frontier Ghost Shell
	+ *Inner Circle* Emblem
	+ Valkyrie O5-X Ship

### Digital Guardian Edition

The premier edition of the game digitally was the Digital Guardian Edition of *Destiny*, which sold for $89.99 USD. It included the *Destiny* base game, its expansion pass, and the Collector's Edition Digital Content.

### Limited Edition

Main article: Destiny Limited Edition
The Limited Edition of Destiny sold for $99.99 USD, and included a copy of the base game, its expansion pass, and the Collector's Edition Digital Content. Given that it's the first of *Destiny's* two physical special editions, it also included a selection of various collectibles and written content based around the world of *Destiny*.

### Ghost Edition

Main article: Destiny Ghost Edition
For $149.99 USD, fans could purchase the Destiny Ghost Edition. This special edition included everything available in the Limited Edition, as well as the electronic Ghost replica, and a bundle of collectibles referred to as Golden Age Relics.

## Bonuses and Related Releases

### Preorder Bonuses

* Sparrow S-10V (Gamestop, early access)
* Blacksmith Shader (Gamestop)

#### Vanguard Armory

The Vanguard Armory weapons pack allowed players who preordered *Destiny* access to an assortment of Uncommon rarity weapons from the Vanguard Quartermaster. These weapons, however, would be available to all players of *Destiny* in fall 2015.

#### Blacksmith Shader

The preorder exclusivity of the Blacksmith Shader is one of the more convoluted instances of a preorder bonus throughout the Destiny franchise. It was available upon preordering a separate game, that game being Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The preorder had to be from Gamestop, and before September 21, 2014 additionally.

### Collector's Edition Digital Content

The Collector's Edition Digital Content was included with many of the higher-tier launch editions of *Destiny*, and included three items to be used in-game. These consisted of *Destiny's* first alternate Ghost Shell, the Frontier Shell, as well as the Valkyrie O5-X Ship, and the *Inner Circle* Emblem.

### Expansion Pass

*The Dark Below* and *House of Wolves* are the two DLC expansions included in *Destiny's* expansion pass, sold for $34.99. *Destiny* players who had purchased the Expansion Pass were also eligible to receive the EV-30 Tumbler Sparrow as of November 18, 2014.

### The Taken King

Main article: The Taken King
All special editions of *The Taken King* included copies of *Destiny* and its first two expansions.

### Destiny: The Collection

Destiny: The Collection was the final release of *Destiny*, containing the base game on a disc for either Xbox One or Playstation 4 consoles, and download codes for all four DLC expansions. It was announced on August 15, 2016 to be releasing alongside *Destiny's* final expansion, *Rise of Iron*, on September 20, 2016 for a price of $59.99 USD. The bundle also included a level 40 character boost, and preordering it would get fans the Iron Gjallarhorn and the Iron Gjallarwing in-game items.

## Soundtrack

*Destiny's* soundtrack was composed by longtime Bungie composers Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, and Martin O'Donnell, in collaboration with Paul McCartney. It features 44 tracks, running 2 hours and 19 minutes. Making it the second longest original soundtrack in Destiny, second to the Destiny 2 Original Soundtrack. It was also the final Destiny soundtrack composed by Martin O'Donnell.

## Music of the Spheres

The musical prequel to *Destiny*, and suspended in controversy, Music of the Spheres began many of the themes present in the Destiny original soundtrack. It was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, with additional collaborative effort from Paul McCartney. Its release was set to precede the launch of *Destiny*, but this would not go to plan. After the official E3 trailer for the title was revealed, Martin O'Donnell stated that his music featured within was altered. This caused friction between O'Donnell and Bungie, which lead to his termination, and eventually, a lawsuit. O'Donnell won the lawsuit, and the entire situation would mark the end of his work with the company.

After this, Bungie opted not to release Music of the Spheres. Later in 2017, after the work of two fans in an attempt to restore the suite using publicly released material, an anonymous individual came out revealing their ownership of an official copy. This was among the 100 copies gifted by Martin O'Donnell prior to his termination, and the individual worked with the two fans to leak the album. This was unofficially allowed to remain available by Bungie until mid-2018, where Bungie issued a Cease and Desist to the leakers. This was because the company had plans to release Music of the Spheres in an official manner, as came to pass when the Music of Destiny, Volume I vinyl collection released that summer.

## Related Merchandise

Destiny Limited Edition
2014Destiny Ghost Edition
2014Music of Destiny, Volume I
2018Destiny 5th Anniversary Pin and Lanyard Set
2019
## Gallery

'"Destiny *boxart*Destiny Expansion Pass boxartDestiny Expansion Pass details pageDestiny Digital Guardian Edition boxartDestiny Digital Guardian Edition details pageDestiny Ghost Edition boxDestiny Ghost Edition detailsDestiny Ghost Edition promotional imageDestiny Ghost Edition detailsDestiny Limited Edition box (PS4)Destiny Limited Edition box (Xbox One)Destiny Limited Edition contentsDestiny Limited Edition box front (Xbox One)Destiny Limited Edition promotional imageDestiny Limited Edition contentsDestiny Limited Edition contentsDestiny: The Collection boxartDestiny: The Collection coverDestiny: The Collection box (PS4)Destiny: The Collection promotional imageDestiny: The Collection cover (Xbox One)Destiny: The Collection concept cover
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bungie. (9 September 2014). *A Guardian Rises*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bungie. (9 September 2014). *The Speaker*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
3. ↑ Bungie. (9 September 2014). *Restoration*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
4. ↑ Bungie. (9 September 2014). *The Dark Within*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bungie. (9 September 2014). *A Stranger's Call*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
6. ↑ Bungie. (9 September 2014). *Exclusion Zone*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
7. ↑ Bungie. (9 September 2014). *A Key Awaits*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
8. ↑ Bungie. (9 September 2014). *The Black Garden*. Ishtar Collective. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 DeeJ. (20 November 2014). *Bungie Weekly Update – 11/20/2014*. Bungie. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 McCaffrey, R. (7 July 2014). *Destiny Beta Dates Announced, Collector's Editions Revealed and Unboxed -- IGN First*. IGN. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 DeeJ. (7 July 2014). *Destiny for Collectors*. Bungie. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 IGN. *Destiny Preorders and Special Editions*. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
13. ↑ Tach, D. (7 July 2014). *Destiny's two collector's editions include access to two expansions and more*. Polygon. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
14. ↑ Bungie. *The Taken King - Legendary Edition*. Archived by Wayback Machine 6 September 2015.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Kain, E. (15 August 2016). '*Destiny: The Collection' Includes 'Rise Of Iron' And All Previous Expansions*. Forbes. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
16. ↑ Playstation Store. *Destiny - The Collection*. Archived by Wayback Machine 10 May 2021.
17. ↑ McWhertor, M. (17 February 2013). *Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell on the music of Destiny, collaborating with Paul McCartney*. Polygon. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
18. ↑ O'Donnell, M. (11 June 2013). *To be clear, the "Official Destiny E3 Gameplay Trailer" 2:47 was not made by @Bungie, it was made by the company that brought you CoD.*. Twitter. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
19. ↑ O'Donnell, M. (15 April 2014). *I'm saddened to say that Bungie's board of directors terminated me without cause on April 11, 2014.*. Twitter. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
20. ↑ Takahashi, D. (4 September 2015). *Ex-Bungie composer Marty O’Donnell wins epic legal fight with former bosses*. GamesBeat. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
21. ↑ Remington, K. (1 February 2018). *Marty O'Donnell: The Origin Story Of Music Of The Spheres*. WSHU. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
22. ↑ Schreier, J. (25 December 2017). *Four Years Later, Destiny's Music Of The Spheres Has Leaked [UPDATE*]. Kotaku. Retrieved 14 May 2021.

## External Links

* Destiny on Destinypedia
* Destiny on Wikipedia
* Destiny - The Collection - Official Trailer | PS4