Given the pedigree of the developer and its many years of work on the Halo franchise, it hasn’t been hard for gamers to get excited about the potential of Bungie’s upcoming Destiny. However, concrete details about the project have remained scarce. How does the game play? What parts are based in the traditions of the classic shooter, and what elements draw on RPGs and MMOs? How does your character grow over time, and what specific activities will aid in that growth? Bungie opened its doors wide to give us the answers, and our January cover story lays out all the info we were able to glean from two days of playing the game, talking with the developers, and witnessing demos set across Destiny’s many worlds.

Check out the January cover image below. Our 14-page exclusive Destiny story includes over 15 brand new screens, in-depth exploration of the many enemy sub-groups, locations, and weapons in the game, and a look at Bungie’s fascinating solution to leveling your hero.

When you’ve had your fill of Destiny details, our January issue also features our final grades for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, along with an extensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Our look at titles that have come out for both generations of consoles helps you figure out whether it’s worth re-buying your favorite game from this year. Plus, we interview a bevy of gaming’s top writers to discuss the art of video game endings. We also have six pages of hands-on impressions about Retro’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and previews of Kingdom Hearts III, Infamous Second Son, and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, along with all our reviews of the first batch of next-gen titles.

Print subscribers can watch for their issues to arrive in the coming days. If you subscribe digitally, your January issue will be available later today on PC/Mac, iPad, Android, and Google Play. You can also get the latest issue through third-party apps on Nook, Kindle, and Zinio starting tomorrow. To switch your print subscription to digital, click here, or to create a new subscription to the digital edition, click here.

In addition to our magazine story on Destiny, you can look forward to a full month of coverage here at gameinformer.com, where we’ll feature interviews with Bungie co-founder Jason Jones and composers Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori, details on matchmaking, and much more. Plus, if you’re hungry to ensure your place in the beta, we’ll be giving away 100 Destiny beta codes over the next two weeks – your chance to snag one of the first 25 codes is happening right now.

To be the first to see new features throughout this month, click on the banner below to hop directly to our Destiny hub – bookmark it stay up to date in the coming weeks.

For a sneak peek at what to expect in our month-long coverage, check out our Destiny coverage trailer below or click here to watch and share the YouTube version.

You can also follow our Destiny updates and other stories by following Game Informer on Twitter, Google+,and Facebook. To learn more from Destiny's official channels, check out the game site, Facebook, Twitter, or Bungie site.

Enjoy the issue!