Destiny is the most preordered new IP video game ever - according to publisher Activision
Destiny, the world’s most pre-ordered non-sequel title, will be released worldwide on Tuesday morning, with many millions expected to play the game when it goes live.
The futuristic sci-fi shooter, from the development team who created the Halo series, has already received over 180 awards and nominations. Many users have pre-downloaded the game and will be waiting for it to be released.
Bungie, the studio behind the game, confirmed that a massive 4.6 million people played the game’s beta in July. Activision has said that it expected the highly-anticipated game will break the publisher's sale record when it hits stores.
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, said: “Destiny has been a labor of love and a remarkable creative journey for everyone at Activision and Bungie.
"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."
Harold Ryan, president of Bungie, the studio behind the game, said: “Destiny is the game we've always wanted to make. 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."
To mark the release of the industry-defining game, a member of Bungie will jump out of an airplane and land on a staging area outside of the studio's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington.
Microsoft last week ran a fake Destiny fragrance ad to draw viewers into buying the game for the Xbox One - instead of its competitor the Playstation 4 - in a move which found a loophole in the game's advertising exclusivity deal with Sony.