Destiny beta waves the Iron Banner for new, limited-time maps

By Adam Rosenberg Published September 23, 2014

Destiny the Game screenshot 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read our full Destiny review.

Players running around in Bungie’s ongoing Destiny beta get a special treat this weekend in the game’s Crucible, which is where all the PvP (competitive multiplayer) goes down. For a limited time, the game’s Iron Banner mode, which pits players against one another without turning off the “level advantage” stats boosts received from the campaign mode’s RPG progression, will be playable. Not just that, but it’s got two multiplayer maps that aren’t otherwise accessible during the beta.

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The two maps are Rusted Lands, which featured into the game’s alpha, and Blind Watch, which offers players their first look at Destiny‘s take on Mars. The initial Iron Banner event ran on July 19 for two hours, starting at 2pm PT. Bungie later confirmed on the official Destiny Twitter feed that additional Iron Banner events would be staged today, July 20, at 2pm PT and 7pm PT.

All players in the beta receive a message when the Iron Banner event goes live, so just be online and watch for an update, then head to the Crucible with your highest-level character and your best gear equipped.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

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A runner runs in Marathon.

Amid a wave of layoffs at Destiny developer and Sony subsidiary Bungie this week, Destiny 2: The Final Shape and Marathon have both reportedly been delayed.
On Monday morning, tweets from developers revealed that Bungie, which was acquired by Sony in January 2022, was suffering layoffs. This was followed up by a report from Bloomberg that went into more detail about the layoffs and their impact on Bungie's future games. Sony and Bungie have not officially commented on the delays yet, although the Bloomberg article mentions that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons will hold a team meeting later today to discuss the layoffs further. This all follows contractor layoffs at Sony studio Naughty Dog earlier this month, which happened as that studio struggles to develop and release a The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bloomberg suggests that these layoffs, like others at Sony this year, are tied to internal game delays. While Destiny 2: The Final Shape is publicly slated to come out in February 2024, Bungie reportedly told staff that it's now going to come out in June 2024. Meanwhile, we learned that Bungie's revival of Marathon was apparently targeting a 2024 launch -- although no release window was given officially -- but will now come out sometime in 2025. These delays make the PlayStation 5's 2024 game lineup look pretty sparse right now outside of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it suggests that Destiny 2's next season will be one of its longest.
As of now, Sony and Bungie have not publicly commented on the layoffs or delays, but we will update this post when they do say more about it.