Happy Bungie Day! Here's the rundown on Destiny's beta and collector's editions.

"The Beta will include character creation, story missions,
cooperative and social activities, competitive multiplayer, and more."

Destiny is easily one of 2014's most hyped games. We've seen the E3 trailer and gameplay, but we want more. Bungie has obliged – on Bungie Day, no less! – by spilling the dates and details on Destiny's upcoming beta. But first: the beta trailer.

Beta invites will be sent in waves, and adhere to this timetable:

• After July 10th, visit Bungie.net and redeem your beta code.
• "On PS4 and PS3, the Beta will begin on July 17th at 10AM PDT."
• "On Xbox One and Xbox 360, the Beta will begin on July 23rd at 10AM PDT."
• "The Beta will be OFFLINE for maintenance on all systems on July 21st and July 22nd PDT."
• "The Beta will close at end of the day on July 26th PDT."
• Bungie asks all beta participants to play on "July 26th, beginning at 8PM PDT" (the last few hours of the beta) for a final massive stress-test. Participants receive an exclusive emblem.

Many eager Destiny fans on Xbox are crestfallen (to say the least), understandably frustrated with less than four days in the beta. Upside: the odds of the beta being extended feels rather likely. One can easily foresee a "you asked for it, so we're extending it!" type of move here – no guarantees, but fingers crossed!

Even if you don't hop into the beta, you won't have to wait long to play. The game is still scheduled for a September 9th release, now only two months away. You can preorder the game, and receive beta codes from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop or the Playstation Store. For more information, check out Bungie's post on their Digital ($90), Limited ($100), and Ghost ($150) collector's editions.

Colt "ShdwFlm" Casey
Deputy Editor