So here are the facts. Destiny sold-through $325 million worth of product during its first five days, which comes out to around four to five million units sold. In the same time frame, 100 million hours of online play were logged across 137 million activities. It’s a huge game no matter how you put it.
Yes, the $325 million figure comes quite short of the $500 million reported as sold to retailers after day one, but that’s to be expected. The fact of the matter is that seldom do you see a game sell four+ million units in a week. Destiny is already the best-selling new IP of all-time.
Most of Destiny‘s sales came in the form of pre-orders, which broke records in and of themselves. But the hype train would quickly be derailed by dozens of middling reviews shortly after release, including our own which gave it a 6.0/10. Since then, many have wondered how its underwhelming reception will affect sales.
Related: Destiny Review – Star Bores
Well, for one, Destiny is already financially successful. You may have heard the $500 million budget figure thrown around, but that includes development, marketing, and 10 years of post-launch support. It’d be safe to estimate that Destiny development and marketing cost less than $325 million, which is how much it’s already made in its short time on the market.
The biggest thing that now challenges Bungie is keeping players invested in Destiny. The game suffers from some shortcomings that challenge its long-term playability, especially its repetitive quest design and sub-par social features. Free updates similar to what Blizzard did with Diablo 3 are what the game needs to retain a healthy community size.
For now, Activision celebrates yet another profitable business venture. Sadly, Bungie might not be in quite as much of a good mood, as there are reports that its 76~ Metacritic score has erased any hope of a $2.5 million bonus for the studio.
