[promo title=”CEO Bobby Kotick reveals staggering levels of investment during Milken conference.”][/promo]
A new IP in the games industry carries its own set of risks and rewards; something Activision is all too aware of. With almost a decade of multi-billion success stories, spurred on by sales of World of Warcraft and Call of Duty titles, Activision is now looking to build the foundations for its next long-term IP through its partnership with Halo developer Bungie.
The $500 million figure, surpassing budgets for major motion pictures, is expected to cover every aspect of Destiny‘s post-release development and is almost certainly the most that has been committed to an entirely new franchise before it’s even released.
This news comes in the wake of a string of announcements about Destiny‘s core functionality, including Bungie’s ambition to provide 24-hour development strategies in a bid to create new experiences for players on a daily basis. Speaking to Reuters, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said they expected the game to sell 8 million units. “For brand new IP it’s tough, but it could post a big surprise.”
“Bungie’s very ambitious plan is to unfold over a 10-year period,” an Activision spokesperson told the site, “The depth of creative content, scope and scale is unprecedented and is required to bring Bungie’s vision to life.” The spokesman added that the long-term cost of Destiny should be in line with other triple-A titles.