14 DAY TRIAL // Bungie confirms that releasing a new intellectual property, such as Destiny, is always a huge risk that can backfire, but the developer believes in the abilities of its staff and has become quite confident after the success of the beta stage.
Destiny debuts later today, September 9, and fans of the all-new project from Bungie have already gotten a chance to experience the multiplayer first-person shooter through an alpha and a beta stage across all of the game's platforms – PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Risk is always present in the entertainment industry
While it's looking set to be a success, Destiny is still a big risk for both Bungie and Activision, the game's publisher and the main financer of the independent studio.
The risk is certainly acknowledged by Bungie's Head of Production, Jonty Barnes, who has talked with GamesTM about the potential failure of the game as well as the faith the whole studio has in its employees.
"Entertainment is a risk – notoriously. There was a saying we’ve said before to keep us from taking our progress for granted: we want to be Avatar, not Waterworld. I think there’s this part which is very early on in the project where you don’t know what the game is that you’re making, but we very much trust in the talent at Bungie," he explains.
Bungie's employees have a lot of experience
Barnes confirms that Bungie's teams have been together for quite a long time and there are still plenty of people around that worked on the original Halo, the studio's first major shooter project, including Creative Director Jason Jones, who is also leading the development of Destiny.
"Entertainment is a risk – I’m fortunate enough to have worked on a lot of new IP. A lot of people at Bungie had never worked on a new IP and it was very daunting for them, there was a lot of insecurity at times. But we trusted in each other. I think when you have that talent, you’re going to be successful."
The beta played a big role for the studio's confidence
One of the first big tests for Destiny was its multi-platform beta stage, which took place in July and resulted in a great experience, both for participants but also for Bungie's employees, who realized that their work was resonating with people.
"The beta was a huge tonic for the team because the world of players agree with the players at Bungie – the things we love about the game, they love about the game. It certainly gives us confidence going into September and purchasing as well through word of mouth."
So far, the reception of Destiny in the territories where it's already available has been quite good, but sales figures have yet to be revealed.
