Destiny becomes most pre-ordered new IP in history

Activision claims that Destiny has become the most pre-ordered new intellectual property in history.

The much anticipated Destiny launches today and although Activision did not reveal exact pre-order numbers to support its claim, the game did see more than 4.6 million players take part in its beta earlier this year.

Destiny has also taken the crown for most expensive video game ever made, purportedly having a budget of $500m. This almost doubles the budget for previous record holder Grand Theft Auto 5 which cost $265m.

’Destiny is the game we've always wanted to make,’ said Bungie president Harold Ryan ’We've dreamt of this universe for years, so we couldn't be more thrilled to swing open the doors and let fans shape this experience as they tell their unique stories in the game. For us, the next generation of games is all about allowing players to collide and interact with each other as they take on epic, action-packed adventures all their own.’

The game has sparked a minor level of controversy as review copies were not sent out to the gaming press ahead of its release with Bungie stating that because Destiny is not a typical shooter, it would not be the same without large player populations and reviewers would get an unfair impression of it.

Destiny was first announced in February 2013 with details being leaked earlier in November 2012. The high number of pre-orders might have been helped by the fact that they started early in October 2013, almost a year before the game’s release.