'Destiny' beta dates accompany new trailer

PlayStation owners who have pre-ordered the hotly anticipated 'Destiny' can get started on July 17, with the beta opening up to Xbox owners on July 23 ahead of a September 9 release.

As the first in a new franchise from 'Halo' studio Bungie, and the first published by 'Call of Duty' and 'World of Warcraft' house Activision, space western 'Destiny' offers a hybrid of traditional first person shooter action and elements lifted from massively multiplayer games, so that singleplayer, cooperative and group events overlap.

An earlier, alpha-stage test had been made available on PlayStation 4 between June 12 and 16, though this next phase now requires a valid code obtained via pre-order.

Activision also outlined plans for two batches of post-release downloadable content. 'Expansion I: The Dark Below' takes players to Hellmouth, based within the moon, while 'Expansion II: House of Wolves' remains under wraps for now, though singleplayer, co-op and multiplayer content will be contained within each pack.

There's an additional bonus for PlayStation owners, part of an ongoing preferential partnership, which means there'll be extra content contained within each expansion until Fall 2015.

Both expansions will go for $19.99 apiece and, by revealing some of the details now, Activision can better encourage prospective punters to sign up for a $34.99 Expansion Pass or, with the base game going for $59, set about rationalizing the purchase of a Limited Edition ($99) or Ghost Edition ($149).