The wait for Destiny to launch on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 is almost at an end as the game is now “gold.” The exact moment that players can start exploring is in the hands of Bungie since the “shared world shooter” can only be played online. The developer revealed that moment in an update Friday and it means people across much of the world could technically play it before the official release; as long as they can get access to a copy.

“When it is September 9th somewhere in the world, and you have access to your very own version of Destiny, it will be time for you to create a character that will keep you company for a good, long time. Retailers will stick to time-zones. Our servers won’t know the difference. Retailers will break street date. Our servers won’t,” Bungie Community Manager David “DeeJ” Dague explained in response to a question.

This was followed by the following Tweet on Saturday evening.

Destiny servers will admit Guardians as soon as it is September 9th somewhere in the world. When you play is between you and your retailer. — Bungie (@Bungie) August 24, 2014

In other words, as soon as the clock rolls over to 12:00 a.m. on September 9 at the International Date Line, Destiny‘s servers will go live. That means the game will technically be playable in the United States at 8 a.m. EDT or 5 am PDT. The problem is having your hands on a copy of the game at that time.

Retailers such as GameStop and Best Buy will likely host midnight launch events across the country so individuals will be able to play as soon as they get home. The PlayStation 4 supports pre-loading with Destiny, but the question is when Sony will unlock access to those that have ordered it. Hopefully it won’t be at the same time the PlayStation Store is updated, which is typically later in the afternoon on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Xbox One will not support pre-loading at all. Xbox LIVE typically updates around 5 am ET, though Microsoft may make an exception in the case of Destiny and make it available at midnight.

Yeah, we can't wait to explore planets like Mercury in Destiny too.

That leaves securing a physical copy prior to Tuesday as the only sure means of playing Destiny before the majority of everyone else. There may not be much benefit to that though since the game is built around playing with others. If your friends don’t have the game at the same time you do, you’ll be forced to slog it alone or play with strangers until they snag a copy.

What are your plans for Destiny? Do you plan to hop on at midnight on September 9, try earlier, or just wait just jump on when life allows? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via Bungie]