Activision have put out a press release regarding its recently released multiplayer shooter extravaganza Destiny, boasting that the game has become the most successful launch of a new game franchise in history to the tune of $500 million. The truth, however, may not be as glamorous as Activision would like you to think.
The most important bit of the press release reads:
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 ofActivision 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.”
One would be inclined to think that Activision, in a single day, has made back all of Destiny’s $500 million budget through a massive amount of sales. However, as Business Insider points out, a careful read of the language used in the press release shows that Activision has sold in more than $500 million of Destiny to retailers worldwide. In other words, they have shipped $500 million worth of the game to be sold by retailers. The actual amount of money the game has made is currently unknown; Activision is merely pointing out the fact that demand for Destiny is such that $500 million worth in copies is currently ready to be sold to gamers.
This press release is made even less glamorous when you consider that Activision put out a similar press release when Call of Duty: Ghosts came out last year, with the publisher claiming over a billion dollars worth of the game was sold into retailers. Ghosts, as it turns out, made less money than its predecessor Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Still, there’s no doubting that Destiny is, well, destined to become one of Activision’s most precious franchises. Reviews are still scarce, but those that have come in are full of praise for Bungie’s latest effort. It remains to be seen if the game will topple Grand Theft Auto V as the fastest selling videogame in history, but being the first game of a franchise currently contracted for 10 years, its a sure bet that Destiny’s inevitable sequels will break all kinds of records.