Report: This Week's Destiny Beta Includes 4 Story Chapters, Competitive Multiplayer

A beta for Bungie's upcoming shooter Destiny begins Thursday, July 17, on PlayStation platforms, and it sounds like the content on offer will be quite substantial. According to a memo reportedly sent to GameStop managers (via Reddit), the Destiny beta will include four story chapters, four competitive multiplayer maps, a cooperative Strike, and a "huge world" to explore.

Previously, Bungie said only that the Destiny beta would include a "diverse sampling of major activities" from the full game. You can guarantee yourself a place in the beta by preordering a copy of the game.

Another Reddit user located the Destiny product page on Xbox One and says the content weighs in at 12.63GB on Microsoft's console. The Destiny beta starts this week for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, before coming to Xbox 360 and Xbox One starting July 23, and ending for all platforms on July 27.

Separately, Bungie writes on its website that Destiny's beta is a genuine beta, and the company expects some things will go wrong. "The Destiny Beta is a test. Make no mistake. This isn't some circus stunt. This is science--and you're the lab rat," the developer said.

"We'd love to tell you that everything will go according to plan, but that wouldn't be any fun. That wouldn't teach us a thing," Bungie added. "Even if the Beta is working perfectly, one of the alpha-geeks in the operations center is gonna kick it to see if it still works. Fortunately, we'll be going to great lengths to keep you informed and keep you in the game."

The full version of Destiny launches September 9 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. For more on Destiny, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.