Destiny Could be the Most Expensive Game Ever

According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, the budget for first-person shooter Destiny is around $500 million dollars, making it the most expensive video game to date.

That's a bigger budget than most Hollywood movies; for context, The Avengers had a production budget of $220 million--less than half of what is allegedly going into Destiny. Of course, this figure isn't just the cost of development and also "included marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs." Of course, given that both Activision and Bungie are counting on this becoming the next Halo franchise, whose games alone have raked in a little less than $3.4 billion worldwide. 

While it's a gamble for Activision and their investors, the developer has been seeing Call of Duty sales slow and revenues slip recently and it's clear they see Destiny as their next meal ticket. Activision has already signed a contract for distribution rights for the next ten years and significant control of the series' development.

Destiny blends the first-person shooter and rpg genres, where players take on the role of a Guardian, the protectors of the last city in a post-apocalyptic Earth, and is set to release September 9 for current and next gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles.