‘Destiny’ Beta Got Two New Maps, For Two Hours

The Destiny beta got a couple of new maps on Saturday, but players only got to sample the new content over a two-hour window. The people running the Destiny beta have been working hard to make the event as special as possible and Saturday’s addition certainly did that.

Gamespot reports that one of the maps included in the Destiny alpha was originally not included in the Destiny beta. The Rusted Lands map was brought back for the beta, along with a brand new map known as Blind Watch.

The two maps that were up in the beta as part of an event that has been dubbed the Iron Banner. “Bring your absolute best gear because we turn on Level Advantages,” Bungie Designer Lars Bakken said in announcing the Saturday event. “That means your Attack and Defense ratings matters in Iron Banner matches.”

PS4 users have had access to the Destiny beta for a couple of days now and will continue to be able to play until July 27. Xbox One users will be able to join in the Destiny fun on July 23.

In preparation of adding even more people to the beta, the event will go offline on July 21 and 22.

During the announcement of the two-hour Iron Banner event, Bungie also let it be known that a player’s Guardian can actually be played across the next generation and current generation (PS3, Xbox 360) versions of Destiny.

Polygon reports that the ability to transfer Destiny characters from one generation to the next was always in the cards. David Shaw told the website, “Our service is built with flexibility in mind. As a player of Destiny you have a Bungie account that’s bound to your PSN ID or your Xbox LIVE Gamertag, instead of a specific generation of device.”

Shaw also made sure it was clear that actual play wasn’t being allowed across the platforms. The ability to cross consoles is only being allowed when it comes to the playable character that is your Guardian.

While the Xbox One community has been up in arms about the fact that PS4 users got earlier access to the beta, there is liable to be an even bigger backlash that PS4 users are getting access to the Iron Banner event.

This appears to be a calculated risk by Bungie, but one has to wonder if they’ve weighed all the negatives that could come along with doing this in the Destiny beta.