Analyst: Next Bungie Project Could Sell 20 Million Copies

We don't know much about the project that Bungie is currently working on together with publisher Activision Blizzard but one analyst, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, has made the bold prediction that the game, whatever it is, will manage to sell close to 20 million units when it is released, possibly in 2011.

Bungie has created Halo: Reach with Microsoft, a blockbuster in itself, but have then announced that they are interested in creating a new intellectual property with Activision, not even confirming that they are creating a first person shooter.

In an investor note which was released after Activision Blizzard offered their better than expected financial data, Michael Pachter stated, “We are especially excited about the new game from Bungie (not formally announced for 2011, but a possibility), as the studio has a long history of proven blockbusters. We think that a multiplatform game from Bungie has the potential to deliver sales on par with the most successful franchises in history and conceivably could sell as many as 20 million units.”

The deal between Activision and Bungie will unfold over a ten year period and the publisher has explicitly said that the games that result from it will be delivered on all platforms, which usually means that PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC, with possible spin offs for the Nintendo Wii.

Halo: Reach managed to sell more than 3 million units exclusively on the Xbox 360 in just two weeks but it's optimistic to think that it would reach 10 million units sold any time soon, a figure that could justify the 20 million prediction for Bungie's next project.

Despite the fact that Bungie is no longer in charge Microsoft is interested in continuing to deliver content for the Halo universe, with 343 Industries taking over stewardship of the franchise.