Destiny is about to get a series of updates this month, and the first one is hitting consoles today.
Developer Bungie confirmed that it is rolling out the 1.0.3 patch for its fall blockbuster right now, and gamers are already reporting that it is available for download. The studio is testing a new voice-chat options and making other minor changes in this 2.44GB download. Bungie’s online sci-fi shooter is heavily reliant on teamwork, and the company wants to make that easier for strangers.
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— Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) November 17, 2014
The big addition in this update is a new chat mode that connects you via voice to people you meet through matchmaking. Previously, to chat with people the game matches you with, you needed to invite those strangers to a party chat. Now, Destiny will do all of that work for you. It is an opt-in mode, so you won’t end up having to talk to anyone unless you choose to do so.
Bungie notes that you may lose connections today while it also makes some changes behind the scenes.
If you’re playing on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 3, however, you may have difficulty downloading the update until later today. Sony is turning off a number of its PlayStation Network services as part of its plan to perform scheduled maintenance. At 9 a.m. Pacific, PSN will go down for six hours.
Destiny is one of the biggest games this year, and publisher Activision is hoping it turns into a game that fans play for a long time. To accomplish that, Bungie is supporting the shooter with updates like today’s. The developer did note that it has “several Destiny updates scheduled for this month,” but it has not detailed what it is planning to include in those.