Epic space shooter Destiny has grossed more than $325m in five days, claims publisher Activision. The figure, which includes Chart-Track stats, retail customer sell-through information and Activision Blizzard internal estimates, puts it among some of the most successful video game launches in history.
“Destiny fans played more than 100 million hours of the game in the first week,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “That’s on par with the engagement levels of our most popular Call of Duty games, which obviously is an industry leader.”
“And this is just the beginning. Destiny is a platform that will grow and evolve and we will continue to work closely with our partners at [developer] Bungie to bring a long line of new experiences and content to life in the game.”
The impressive sales figures come despite mixed reviews for the game. Set in the distant future, amid multiple alien invasions of Earth, players take on story missions with friends or fight against each other in multiplayer arenas. It’s an ambitious combination of play styles, but some reviewers have found the story dull, and the separate components highly conventional.
It’s likely though, that the challenge will evolve over time. Developer Bungie has a series of downloadable additions planned for the coming months – though fans will have to pay extra.
Although in the same strata as the mega-selling Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto titles, Destiny has fallen short of a record performance. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 brought in $775m within five days of its release in 2011. Grand Theft Auto V, meanwhile, made $800m in just one day.
