Rising launches a closed beta, but there’s a catch

Ah, Destiny. I’ve lost many hours to both Destiny games over the years, clocking close to one thousand on the first game and a few hundred on the second, so it’s fair to say that I’m quite fond of Bungie’s shooter series. Unsurprisingly, that means that one of my most anticipated mobile games for 2025 is Destiny: Rising, which has a closed beta on the way, but it’s not exactly exciting news for all fans worldwide.

The FPS game’s closed beta is coming exclusively to the US and Canada on May 29 via Google Play, leaving those of us in Europe and elsewhere in the dust, stuck on The Tower waiting to go on an adventure. If you happen to live in North America, you’re in for a treat, as the new mobile game is ready to show off some fresh gameplay and narrative expansions, the latter of which involves learning what the Cabal are up to. I’ve killed thousands of them, so it’s no biggie to hunt down a few more in Destiny: Rising when my time comes.

One of the best things about Destiny is the enigmatic characters, and it’ll surprise no one to learn that my favorite is Cayde-6; the hunter class is my favorite, so loving him is easy, though Xur does supply me with exotic weapons, so he’s a close second. Hopefully, the new Destiny: Rising characters make just as much of an impact, with two new people joining the closed beta: Umeko and Xuan Wei.

Another thing that’s pretty essential to the Destiny experience is the strikes, and the new closed beta looks to introduce some new ones, along with a master difficulty setting for those of you looking for a real challenge.

It’s not all bad news for those who want to play the action game but don’t live in North America, as Destiny: Rising pre-registrations are officially open on the App Store and via the website for Android users, so you can get ready to dive in when the Destiny: Rising release date arrives. Don’t worry if you want to pre-register through Google Play; that’s coming later.

If you need some extra incentive to pre-register, there are rewards if enough of you sign up. If ten million of you get ready for battle, you can get an exotic ornament, which is easily the highlight of those goodies. For more information, you can visit the official Destiny: Rising website.

For those of you who can’t check out the Destiny: Rising closed beta, you can pass the time with our list of the best mobile games, though we also have some Switch games and Steam Deck games suggestions if you want some handheld action.