Bungie has tried to keep the lid on its secret new game. Tried and failed. Again.

It's fair to say that gamers are excited to see what the developers at Bungie are working on. Very very excited. After all, Bungie is the company that created the beloved Halo franchise (which 343 Industries took over after Bungie parted ways with Microsoft).

That means, when it comes to this company's next project, expectations and anticipation is extremely high. That also means that, despite Bungie's efforts to keep things hush-hush, images and news about its new game have been outed for all the world to see this week. And it's the third time in recent months that information about this new project has been leaked.

It was earlier this year that we first learned that Bungie's newest project is code-named "Destiny" and is reportedly a four-game sci-fi, action shooter series. We learned this not because Bungie made an official announcement but because the details were outed in documents that were released as part of a lawsuit between Activision and Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella.



Then came leaked documentation — revealed by game site Kotaku — that, in part, describe the "Destiny" gameplay as "still quite like Halo."

And this week, game site IGN revealed concept art and a story synopsis for "Destiny" — information that was provided to them by an unnamed source. Kotaku confirmed that it too had received the leaked material, which describes "Destiny" as "fun and accessible to all," and an attempt "to create a universe as deep, tangible and relatable as that of the Star Wars franchise."

According to IGN, the document reveals "Destiny" to be a highly social game set 700 years in the future in the Last City on Earth, where a giant alien ship "hangs overhead like a second Moon." It goes on to describe how ...

... strange, alien monsters creep in from the edge of the universe, determined to take Earth and the Last City. We are young ‘knights’ tasked with defending the remains of humanity, discovering the source of these monsters and — eventually — overcoming it.

Bungie has not confirmed that all of this information is correct. However, the company has now issued a statement on its website, along with the top image, explaining: "We weren't quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can’t wait to finally show you what we've really been up to."

Here's hoping "soon" is, you know, soon. Because clearly, we can't wait to see what they've really been up to.

Winda Benedetti writes about video games for NBC News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things on Twitter here @WindaBenedetti and you can follow her on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IN-GAME FACEBOOK PAGE to discuss the day's gaming news and reviews.