Activision is known to spend an king’s ransom on its franchises, predominantly Call of Duty, but the budget for Bungie’s Destiny could surpass all previous records.
According to Reuters, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick spoke at the Milken conference in LA and revealed that, “If you’re making a $500 million bet you can’t take that chance with someone else’s IP. The stakes for us are getting bigger.”
Keep in mind that this isn’t a confirmed figure. Nevertheless, according to analysts, Activision would need to sell 15 to 16 million units to break even on the initial investment. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, who expects the game to sell 8 million units, said that, “It’s a head scratcher. For brand new IP, it’s tough but it could post a big surprise.”
Destiny will be out on September 9th for Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360. Has Bungie and Activision bitten off more than it can chew? We’ll find out in the coming months.