NetEase announces Destiny: Rising, a mobile RPG spin-off of Bungie’s series

NetEase Games announced today that it is developing a free-to-play mobile RPG called Destiny: Rising, set in the same universe as Bungie’s first-person shooter franchise. Bungie itself has licensed the Destiny brand to NetEase, which will develop and publish the title. According to the latter, Destiny: Rising features familiar Destiny characters in unfamiliar settings, as well as both returning and new game modes. At present, the game has no release date.

Destiny: Rising is set in an alternate universe to the primary Destiny canon, in a time after the collapse of civilization and the Dark Age. The game features single-player and co-op play, as well as competitive multiplayer. Players can switch between first-person and third-person modes, and Rising is compatible with both controllers and touch-based controls. It features multiple playable characters, explorable biomes and weapons from which to choose.

Ethan Wang, SVP of NetEase Inc, said in a statement, “With Destiny: Rising, NetEase Games is honored to partner with Bungie to deliver a Destiny-caliber experience to mobile devices. Destiny is an incredible franchise with a passionate and dedicated global fanbase. As huge fans ourselves, we are humbled and thrilled for the opportunity to bring gamers an action-packed RPG shooter set within the Destiny Universe.”

Bungie’s collaboration with NetEase goes back several years, as the two first announced they were working together on a new game in 2018. NetEase also invested over $100 million in Bungie and obtained a minority stake in the developer the next year. At the time, all it revealed about the game was that it wouldn’t affect the development of the mainline Destiny titles.