I wrote for Naavik about NetEase’s attempt to turn Bungie’s Destiny franchise into a mobile live-service hit. Read the full article here.

Why I wrote about this

The original Destiny is the last MMO-style game that I got really addicted to. I was there for the loot cave and to this day, beating Vault of Glass is one of the most fun I’ve ever had with a video game.

Now, more than 10 years later, Destiny is coming to mobile. The game itself is solid, but AAA IP coming to mobile is always a high-stakes experiment.

The gist of it

Destiny: Rising is a standalone mobile entry in Bungie’s long-running sci-fi shooter franchise, developed and published by NetEase under license. The game launched globally in August 2025 and blends familiar Destiny gunplay with mobile-first systems inspired by titles like Genshin Impact, including gacha-driven progression and streamlined controls for touch devices.

Early business performance has been modest. In its first 20 days, the game generated around 2 million downloads and $9 million in IAP revenue. That’s underwhelming given the game’s AAA production values and likely $100M+ development cost. However, player reception has been surprisingly positive, with many Destiny fans praising its fresh content, MMO-like activities, and long-requested quality-of-life features.

The real test is still ahead. The game has yet to launch in China, the world’s largest mobile market and likely its primary target audience. With millions of Chinese pre-registrations already reported, Destiny: Rising’s long-term success will likely hinge less on Western performance and more on whether it can break out domestically.

Key takeaways

  • Destiny: Rising blends Bungie’s shooter DNA with NetEase’s mobile design playbook. The result is a hybrid of Destiny-style gunplay and gacha-driven mobile progression systems.
  • Early global revenue is modest relative to the project’s scale. With likely $100M+ development costs, the bar for success is extremely high.
  • Player sentiment has been surprisingly strong. Features like faster progression, varied activities, and better quality-of-life tools resonate with longtime Destiny fans.
  • China is the real launch that matters. With strong pre-registrations and domestic development, the game appears designed first and foremost for the Chinese market.
  • AAA IP mobile adaptations remain risky bets. Even polished titles can struggle unless they reach massive scale in revenue and live-service engagement.