Destiny Beta Now Open To All Players, Iron Banner Event Returning Soon

Destiny's beta no longer requires you to pre-order the game. Bungie has decided to open the test up to all players on Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3.

"The Beta has been eye-opening so far," said Bungie. "We’ve watched the world of Destiny come to life. Guardians from every platform have arrived at the Tower from their battles in the wild. We have watched your adventures with great interest, and listened to your feedback. Your missions have provided us with volumes of discoveries we can use to prepare for the launch of Destiny in September."

"Our work is not done. There is more we can learn. To make this happen, we need more Guardians to play. This is, above all else, a test."

As of 4 PM PDT today, anyone who wants to try out the shared-world shooter should be able to download the beta to their preferred console. The public roll-out isn't instantaneous, though:

There are some restrictions on the open beta, though. You'll need Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus to play. Xbox One owners can use an Xbox Live Gold trial to get access, though. Furthermore, you'll need 40GB of hard drive space.

If you want to try out Destiny on new-gen and last-gen consoles, note that characters carry over between the same family of consoles. If you create a character on Xbox One, you can continue their journeys on Xbox 360 and vice versa. The same goes for PS4 and PS3 characters. Note, however, that you can only play alongside people using the same console as you.

Destiny's beta allows players to try out the shooter's newbie content. You create a custom character from three races and three classes and undertake a few missions on the ruined surface of Earth. Eventually you can visit the Tower, the social hub of the game where you can buy and sell equipment. The Tower is also where you'll access the player-versus-player combat of the Crucible for the first time. Beta testers can level up to 8, earning stat boosts and new abilities along the way.

"If you have played the Beta, please prepare for new arrivals. We know you won’t go easy on them in the Crucible. Show no mercy."

The beta will run until Sunday. Bungie has a few special events planned for the last days. First, they're going to relaunch the Iron Banner PvP playlist from last weekend. Iron Banner gives players access to four maps: 'Rusted Lands' on Earth, 'First Light' on the Moon, 'Shores of Time' on Venus, and 'Blind Watch' on Mars. In these matches, your armor and weapon's stats have an impact on their effectiveness. Braving these battles will let you earn reputation and rank toward special equipment.

The Iron Banner playlist will only be available at select times, though. Here's the full schedule (all times are PDT):

Friday, July 25th

• 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
• 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Saturday, July 26th

• 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
• 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Bungie clarified that this isn't the mystery event they've been teasing for Saturday, though. Said event will give players a permanent reward that will presumably help them in the full version of the game. The developers will share details on the surprise tomorrow.