Destiny launches next week on a bunch of different consoles. Since developer Bungie has a ten-year plan for the game, it may outlast some of the devices its debuting on. But if you’re starting Destiny on the Xbox 360 or PS3, don’t worry: jumping to the next generation won’t cost you anything — for now.
Activision and Bungie, Destiny’s publisher and developer respectively, just announced a “digital upgrade” offering for Destiny that will allow players who get the game for Xbox 360 or PS3 to migrate to the Xbox One or PS4 free of a charge for a limited time. That means that you’ll get the base game and any other bells and whistles you’ve picked up along the way such as season passes, DLC, what have you, delivered straight to your PS4 or Xbox One once you decide to make the jump.
This is great news for anyone frustrated with the feeling that they have been asked to pay for the same game twice if they want to play the newest version, thanks to all the high-profile ports and HD remakes that have been coming out recently for Sony and Microsoft’s newest consoles. As always, however, there are a few caveats that gamers should be wary of. The special deal only works within a single console family, for instance, so don’t expect to get the game for free on your new PS4 if you started playing on the 360. Also, this is a limited time offer. The wording in Activision and Bungie’s announcement is a little vague, but the date it highlights is 15 January 2015 as the deadline to redeem your voucher for the current-gen stuff. I reached out to Activision and Bungie’s representatives to ask if that means you can still wait and keep playing the last-gen version until some later date when you finally decide to get a new console, and will update this story once I hear back.
Make sure to read Bungie’s FAQ closely before deciding which version of Destiny to invest in. Happy hunting!
Comments
13 responses to “Last-Gen Destiny Comes With A Free Current-Gen Upgrade (For Now)”
@ Yannick LeJacq
Is there any word on upgrading DLC from physical editions? I don’t mind buying the base game again (because I get the physical products require upgrade programs offered in stores) but downloading DLC again is a bit of pain.
Read the bloody FAQ
– Log into your PlayStation®3 and redeem the voucher for the Destiny Expansion Pass in the PlayStation®Store on or before January 15, 2015.
– Log into your PlayStation®4 any time after using the same Sony Entertainment Network Account (PSN ID) used to redeem the Destiny Expansion Pass on PlayStation®3.
– Navigate to the Expansion Pass within the Destiny content page in the PlayStation®Store.
– Add the item to your cart and complete the transaction and wait for the download to complete.
– Wait for the download to complete.
A physical or digital PlayStation®4 version of the Destiny game will be required to play this content on PlayStation®4, sold separately.
Expansion Pass content (which includes Expansions I and II) will only be available for full download once released.
Yes, when you buy the Destiny Limited Edition or Destiny Ghost Edition on Xbox 360 and redeem the Expansion Pass by January 15, 2015, you will also be able to download it on Xbox One by doing the following:
– Log into your Xbox 360 and redeem the token for the Destiny Expansion Pass on Xbox Live on or before January 15, 2015.
– Log into your Xbox One using the same Microsoft Account (Xbox Live Account) used to redeem the Destiny Expansion Pass on Xbox 360.
– Navigate to the Expansion Pass within the Destiny content page in the Xbox Store.
– Add the item to your download queue and wait for the download to complete.
A physical or digital Xbox One version of the Destiny game will be required to play this content on Xbox One, sold separately.
Cheers
This could be a silly question, but if I get it on Xbox360 and then transfer to the One, do I still keep it on the 360 or do I lose it?
Once again the FAQ answers it, same goes for PS users btw.
Q. When I download the free Destiny Digital Base Game for Xbox One, will I still be able to play it on Xbox 360?
Yes. Your Microsoft Account (Xbox Live Account) will retain licenses for both consoles.
Apparently it also works in reverse, current gen versions include last gen versions as well
I hope so.
Any links for where you heard that?
Really that’s amazing if true!
So does this mean I should buy the game on ps3 even though I own both, then transfer to ps4? I’m pretty sure it’s cheaper on ps3.
Edit: just checked, same price. Nevermind.
Still no digital copy for last-gen systems. 🙁
Are you sure? Because this upgrade only works for the digital version of the base game on last gen
Yep. I hunted for one beforehand, and got excited that there might be one on the SEN and/or Xbox marketplace after this announcement. I can only assume that (a) there’ll be a digital copy launched on the 9th (seems strange that there’d be no preorder for last-gen though), or (b) you get a digital next-gen copy for your physical past-gen copy. :S
[EDIT: But if you find a copy ANYWHERE, please gimme a link!!!) 😀
[EDIT2: found PS3! bit.ly/1ubn4v2 still hunting for xbox]
Still cant find xbox 360 🙁
Just one small oversight in the article: This applies ONLY to DIGITAL content.
If you buy a digital version of Destiny or the DLC on PS3/X360, you can upgrade that to PS4/XBONE (same console manufacturer only, so no PS3 -> XBONE) version free.
If you buy a physical version of Destiny, only the included DLC (if any) is transferable. You have to buy a copy of Destiny again on your target console to actually play on it etc.
From what I can tell, the X360 digital edition doesn’t go onto the marketplace until the launch window, so potentially no pre-order bonuses included (like early Vanguard access + badge).