Destiny makes $500 million in first 24 hours

London, UK – 10th September, 2014 – Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that the company sold more than $500 million of Destiny into retail stores and first parties worldwide as of day one, making the game the biggest new video game franchise launch in history.

“Based on extraordinary audience demand, retail and first party orders worldwide have exceeded $500 million for Destiny,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “This industry milestone marks another blockbuster success for our company and demonstrates our unique ability to create some of the most successful entertainment franchises in the world. The success of Destiny, along with the recent introduction of Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone, is further validation of our unique capabilities to create great entertainment franchises from the ground up.”

Destiny launched at over 11,000 midnight openings around the world, as fans in over 178 countries (Source: Radian6) shared their fervour on YouTube and in social media.

“Since the beginning, we’ve been confident that our investment and belief in Destiny would pay off. But not many people believed we’d be able to say it did so on day one,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Destiny is officially the biggest new franchise launch in our industry’s history. It’s also the highest-selling day one digital console release in history. We have more confidence than ever that Destiny will become one of the iconic franchises of this generation and Activision’s next billion dollar brand. Most importantly, it’s just a great game which we can’t stop playing. A big thanks to our incredibly talented team and partners who helped make this happen; most importantly, our partners at Bungie.”

those are some impressive numbers, I just hope Bungie has complete control over the franchise and doesn't allow Activision to turn it into a yearly cash cow. I think I remember reading that the publishing deal was for 10years and Bungie owned the property, something about 3 games to be released in those 10 years too.

those are some impressive numbers, I just hope Bungie has complete control over the franchise and doesn't allow Activision to turn it into a yearly cash cow. I think I remember reading that the publishing deal was for 10years and Bungie owned the property, something about 3 games to be released in those 10 years too.

Originally Posted by Sith Rick

That is a concern, I always get confused with the released document of Bungie's plan versus the leaked documents of Blizzards plans from a few years ago. I think it's the same one you reference. Even if Bungie owns the franchise, they can still get pressure, but I believe Bungie is strong enough to resist, though 10 years is a long time. Activision is the company that lorded over promised contractual bonuses for the next milestones in their factory slaughterhouse, where franchises are cloned in labs and sent directly to the mines. Tony Hawk. Guitar Hero. Call of Duty. I could go on.

That being said, and my disposition towards Activision aside, where else would Bungie have gone anyways? EA? Smaller publishing house? For something that big Activision is the only one with the cash enough to create the media Marketing that we all saw. No other publisher could have afforded The Who for a live action commercial for launch week.

Well deserved. The game is fun and great to look at.

Since they spent $500million on it, and only get about 1/3 of the sales, Activision needs that to happen twice more for the game to break even now. Then the profits actually start rolling in.

That is a concern, I always get confused with the released document of Bungie's plan versus the leaked documents of Blizzards plans from a few years ago. I think it's the same one you reference. Even if Bungie owns the franchise, they can still get pressure, but I believe Bungie is strong enough to resist, though 10 years is a long time. Activision is the company that lorded over promised contractual bonuses for the next milestones in their factory slaughterhouse, where franchises are cloned in labs and sent directly to the mines. Tony Hawk. Guitar Hero. Call of Duty. I could go on.

That being said, and my disposition towards Activision aside, where else would Bungie have gone anyways? EA? Smaller publishing house? For something that big Activision is the only one with the cash enough to create the media Marketing that we all saw. No other publisher could have afforded The Who for a live action commercial for launch week.

Originally Posted by palmettobling

yes EA would be the logical choice, West and Zampella started at EA making the first Medal of Honor game then forming Infinity ward and selling to Activision and now back at EA. Im pretty sure Bungie owns the property and Activision is only the publisher but Infinity Ward started that way too......Neversoft may be reformed and make Tony Hawk a playable character in a future Destiny yearly realese...lol

Since they spent $500million on it, and only get about 1/3 of the sales, Activision needs that to happen twice more for the game to break even now. Then the profits actually start rolling in.

Originally Posted by futiles

Right, so next week its all profit!

Right, so next week its all profit!

Originally Posted by Sith Rick

Probably not. It would take 16-18 million units sold to make Activision profitable. Many analyst think 8-10 million units will be sold (Although, $500 million would already be almost 8 million, so, there is that going for them). 12 million would match Halo 3 (which was single platform and this is on 4 consoles). On the other hand, that $500 million does go towards making future games in the series cheaper, with the overall plan being profitable able game 2 and game 3 being gravy.

(Of course, this also explains the buy one get one free plan for digital copies. There is no 1/3 to retailers, no shipping costs, no pressing costs, etc. So, giving a 360 and X1 copy digitally to a single user for $60 is pretty much the same profit, if not more, than selling two copies for $120 at Best Buy, or Gamestop, or MS Store, or Target... - And then there are no used copies out there either...)

Futiles, forever the naysayer =p this game will be the best selling game...ever.

Futiles, forever the naysayer =p this game will be the best selling game...ever.

Originally Posted by Zombie In PJs

I'm not naysaying; I am just pointing out that with the ridiculous budget Activision put forward on marketing, publishing, and distribution, the $500 million is sales is not even in a dent in the costs. But, Activision is planning on 2 sequels over 10 years, so, $500 million is an investment, with no expectation of profit on game one.

I had no interest in Destiny until Monday night when I was working the Destiny launch at the MS Store for Extra Life. After watching for a little bit, I feel like I will buy it on the 360 and get it free on the Xbox One.

Here's Why 'Destiny' Didn't Actually Make $500 Million In 24 Hours ... shooter set in the future, has made $500 million in its first 24 hours.

I'm not naysaying; I am just pointing out that with the ridiculous budget Activision put forward on marketing, publishing, and distribution, the $500 million is sales is not even in a dent in the costs. But, Activision is planning on 2 sequels over 10 years, so, $500 million is an investment, with no expectation of profit on game one.

I had no interest in Destiny until Monday night when I was working the Destiny launch at the MS Store for Extra Life. After watching for a little bit, I feel like I will buy it on the 360 and get it free on the Xbox One.

Originally Posted by futiles

The only part I read was..."I feel like I will buy it."

The only part I read was..."I feel like I will buy it."

Originally Posted by Zombie In PJs

Yep, I have until Jan 15, 2015 to do the buy one 360 and get both deal. I just need to swing by Best Buy and swap some reward points for MS $. If anyone wants to gift me some MS $, I will get it that much sooner, and play with whoever gifts me.

Bungie please fix My bee error

Futiles, forever the naysayer =p this game will be the best selling game...ever.

Originally Posted by Zombie In PJs

Logic dictates truth. Nevertheless, this game will do very well. I will be playing it a buddy's house Sat. and if it's as good as everyone says, I may be able to justify finally buying a One.

also Sony contributed to the marketing, so the 500 mil they invested is exaggerated. 500 mil was spent on the game but it wasn't all Activisions money.

Activision has announced that Destiny has grossed $325 million in sales in just five days, following the publisher's launch day confirmation that it had shipped $500 million worth of the game to retailers.

While there are still no numbers as far as units shifted are concerned, it's the first proper indication that Bungie's shooter is clocking up some impressive figures.

Since its release last week, not only has Destiny sold through $325 million worth in copies of the game, but over 100 million hours of gameplay have been clocked during that same period. It bodes well that the game is doing well, especially as Bungie and Activision's contract will see four Destiny games launching over a 10-year time frame.

"Destiny fans played more than 100 million hours of the game in the first week," Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg remarked. "That's on par with the engagement levels of our most popular Call of Duty games, which obviously is an industry leader."

It looks as though Activision's $500 million investment in Destiny is already starting to pay off in a big way. Destiny is out now on Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3.

http://www.xboxachievements.com/news/news-19292-Destiny-Sells-Through-$325-Million-in-Five-Days.html

Bungie knows what they are doing. They will be rolling in the dough for years to come.

Fun game, the story doesn't compare to any Halo, I was sort of hoping for a little more. I guess it's now down to boss fights...

Bungie fix bee error, Thanks :-(