Activision Blizzard (ATVI) on Watch Following Midnight Release of 'Destiny'

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is on watch as the company releases its latest first-person shooter video game, Destiny. The following is from a press release issued Monday morning:

Destiny is the most pre-ordered new video game IP in history, and has won over 180 awards and nominations, setting the stage for Destiny to become one of the biggest entertainment launches of the year, and the next big blockbuster franchise in gaming. In July, over 4.6 million people tested Destiny in what became the biggest beta of this console generation. Millions are expected to start playing the full game today.

“Destiny has been a labor of love and a remarkable creative journey for everyone at Activision and Bungie,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing Inc. “We feel that we have the opportunity to launch something huge – not just into the gaming landscape, but the pop cultural landscape. Arriving at our launch day with this much support and enthusiasm from fans and retailers is downright exciting. Moments like this just don’t come around very often.”

“Destiny is the game we’ve always wanted to make,” said Harold Ryan, Bungie president. “We’ve dreamt of this universe for years, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to swing open the doors and let fans shape this experience as they tell their unique stories in the game. For us, the next generation of games is all about allowing players to collide and interact with each other as they take on epic, action-packed adventures all their own.”

In addition to the launch of the game, the Destiny Expansion Pass is available for purchase. The Expansion Pass will extend the Destiny adventure after the launch of the game, with two expansions, both of which will include brand new story missions, cooperative activities and competitive multiplayer arenas, and a wealth of all new weapons, armor and gear to earn. The Expansion Pass is available at a suggested retail price of $34.99, with Expansion I and Expansion II to be priced individually at $19.99 when they launch. Expansion I will launch in December, with Expansion II following.

In Destiny, you are cast as a Guardian of the last city on Earth, able to explore the ancient ruins of our solar system in a social, living universe filled with other players. You will journey through environments spanning the red dunes of Mars to the lush jungles of Venus while creating your own legend as you and your friends venture out into the stars to reclaim the treasures and secrets lost after the collapse of humanity. Over the course of your adventures you will become more powerful as you wield rare and exotic weapons, gear, and super abilities. In addition to the story campaign, you can take your unique character into any co-operative or competitive activity, including the ability to compete with or against your friends in The Crucible, Destiny’s competitive multiplayer mode featuring numerous playlists and maps spanning diverse environments across the galaxy.

Destiny is rated T for Teen by the ESRB (Animated Blood and Violence), and is available now for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system (PlayStation Plus required for some features), PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system and Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft (Xbox Live Gold required for some features).

For more information, visit www.DestinyTheGame.com. For exclusive updates, follow the official Destiny social channels at www.facebook.com/DestinyTheGame and @DestinyTheGame on Twitter, and interact directly with the developers at www.Bungie.net.

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