Activision Spending $500,000,000 on Destiny
Kotick betting a part of the farm on new shooter
Work in Progress
Activision/Blizzard is reportedly spending half a billion dollars on making sure that Bungie-developed Destiny is going to be a hit. That budget towers over movies such a Gravity ($100m) and Pacific Rim which, according to Forbes, barley made, "$400m worldwide on a $180m cost."
Reuters reports that, "CEO Bobby Kotick revealed the number, which dwarfs Hollywood spending on some of its biggest firms, during the Milken conference in Los Angeles last week. A company spokesperson said on Monday the number was accurate but also included marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs." The direct quote is:
"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."
Bear in mind, of course, that this figure refers to the marketing budget as well as the pay for the people actually making the game and the inevitable DLC.
Reuters also notes that, "Analysts said $500 million would likely be a record spent on a single game - especially one without an established track record. To break even, Activision would have to sell about 15 million to 16 million units of a $60 game."
Big, big money. And some more context is, "Some analysts estimate that Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto, spent over $260 million to develop, produce and market the fifth installment, though it's unclear whether that's comparable with Activision's own $500 million figure."
So, why the huge spend? "GTA is on track to reach $2 billion in retail sales, according to analysts," that's why.
Reuters reports that, "CEO Bobby Kotick revealed the number, which dwarfs Hollywood spending on some of its biggest firms, during the Milken conference in Los Angeles last week. A company spokesperson said on Monday the number was accurate but also included marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs." The direct quote is:
"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."
Bear in mind, of course, that this figure refers to the marketing budget as well as the pay for the people actually making the game and the inevitable DLC.
Reuters also notes that, "Analysts said $500 million would likely be a record spent on a single game - especially one without an established track record. To break even, Activision would have to sell about 15 million to 16 million units of a $60 game."
Big, big money. And some more context is, "Some analysts estimate that Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto, spent over $260 million to develop, produce and market the fifth installment, though it's unclear whether that's comparable with Activision's own $500 million figure."
So, why the huge spend? "GTA is on track to reach $2 billion in retail sales, according to analysts," that's why.
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