Microsoft has revealed that Destiny, the next blockbuster game from Bungie, is now available for pre-order and pre-download ahead of its launch on 9 September.
Bungie, a spin-out from Microsoft, is the games company that originated the billion-dollar Halo franchise.
The company, which split from Microsoft in 2007, made its final game in the Halo franchise in 2010, Halo: Reach.
In 2010, Bungie entered into a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard.
Its latest game Destiny, an open world first-person shooter, will launch on 9 September on the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
Microsoft changes the Destiny of games retail
The onset of Destiny represents Microsoft’s new strategy for selling games via its Xbox One console by pre-order and pre-download and could signal the death knell for buying games in retail stores.
Two versions – Xbox One Destiny Pre-Order Edition for €69.99 and Xbox One Destiny Digital Guardian Edition for €99.99 – will be available for pre-order through the Xbox Store on the Xbox One or online.
When a title becomes available for digital pre-order in the Xbox Store, select ‘Pre-purchase’ to buy and download the game.
You will be charged the full amount upon transaction and may use any supported payment method, including an existing Microsoft account balance or credit card.
The game will download, along with any updates issued before the release date, so the game is up-to-date and ready to play. Then, when the game is officially released to the Xbox Store, timed with local launch availability on 9 September, simply go to the game in My Games & Apps, go to your pre-pinned tile, or say ‘Xbox, go to Destiny’ to start playing.
Xbox One sales double without bundled Kinect
In related news, Microsoft has revealed sales of the Xbox One have doubled since the option to buy the console without the Kinect sensor became available. The company has not released concrete sales figures, however.
The decision to sell a version of the Xbox One without Kinect reduced the price of the console to €399.
To its credit, Microsoft is still banging the drum for Kinect, which recognises voice and gesture controls and includes biometric sign-in.
The standalone Kinect sensor comes with Dance Central Spotlight from Harmonix as a digital download and is available in stores for €149.99.