‘Destiny: The Taken King’ Sets New Franchise Record Peak In Concurrency, Total Players On Day One Of Release

On its first day of release the Year Two version of Destiny, named The Taken King, set a Playstation record. It quickly became the most downloaded game on the platform. The franchise, which was brand new when the original game released last September, also broke its own personal records for total players and peak online concurrency on day one.

The record-breaking news was immortalized in a press release via Activision and reported on by VG247. Specific numbers of players overall or a count of peak concurrency are not available, however. Both numbers were larger than the release of the base Destiny game, though, showing great growth for the franchise overall.

When Destiny launched, it became the biggest new franchise launch in history making its Year Two expansion numbers even more impressive. Unfortunately, though, players will really need that extra content in order to enjoy the base Destiny game. According to Kotaku, players that do not own The Taken King cannot participate in heroic strikes or nightfalls. Not to mention, they are limited to legacy playlists under level 20.

Of course, new PvP content is also gated by The Taken King. Players with just the base Destiny game or its first few DLCs are limited to PvP playlists in three varieties. If players find themselves in a match they do not wish to complete, they will have to leave and attempt to join another match until finding one they want to finish.

Fortunately, The Taken King, the base game and its two previous expansions are all included in the Legendary Edition of Destiny. The Legendary Edition is perfect for new players at $60, but previous Destiny players can expand their game with The Taken King digitally by itself. Owners of Destiny and its first two expansions can pick up a digital copy of The Taken King for $40. Both of these versions of the game include a one-time character boost to level 25; the required level to start completing The Taken King content.

All in all, The Taken King adds a new story arc to the game, new weapons, new armor, a new subclass for each class, and much more. Not to mention, sweeping changes took place before The Taken King was released for Destiny. The way players level off of gear was altered, many weapons were changed, more vault slots were added, and much more. Moreover, the expansion offers Playstation users access to a new Strike, a new Crucible map, new armor, and new weapons exclusively until fall of next year.

[Images via Activision]