14 DAY TRIAL // Bobby Kotick, the chief executive officer of publisher Activision, has claimed that his company might invest as much as 500 million dollars (380 million Euro) in the upcoming Destiny video game, which would make it the most expensive project ever for the industry.
Gamasutra is quoting the leader of the company as saying during the Milken conference in Los Angeles, California, that, “If you're making a $500 million (380 million Euro) bet you can't take that chance with someone else's IP. The stakes for us are getting bigger.”
The executive explained why the universe for Destiny was entirely new and did not use another intellectual property that might have wider recognition among the potential audience.
A spokesperson for Activision has explained that the figure quoted by Bobby Kotick includes actual game development, which is being conducted by the team at Bungie, as well as marketing, packaging for physical copies, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs.
The most expensive video game developed until now is thought to be Grand Theft Auto V from Rockstar and 2K Games, which is estimated to have cost 250 million dollars (180 million Euro), although the two companies have not offered any official info.
Destiny will be launched on September 9 all over the world and will be available on the Xbox One from Microsoft, the PlayStation 4 from Sony and current-gen consoles.
Activision has said that a big part of the investment linked to the title at the moment is designed to allow Bungie to create an entirely new game engine that can take advance of the new hardware that’s available on the market.
This means that the inevitable sequels that the publisher is already thinking about will be somewhat cheaper to develop, especially given that they might be only offered on the new Sony and Microsoft consoles.
Bungie has said that the new universe it is creating for Destiny is designed to include a lot of lore and can be used for a variety of other experiences.
The game is designed to use the core features of the first-person shooter genre, while also using a number of ideas that are currently associated with role playing and with the MMO space.
Destiny will be a social title that will encourage players to work together to overcome challenges but can also be played solo.
A beta version that will test some core elements of the title is set to be launched in July.