Activison and Bungie have finally put out a press release for Destiny 2's launch sales and the information that it's missing is only fueling the speculation fires, not quelling them. Primarily, the PR doesn't state that Destiny 2 outsold Destiny 1, only that it had a higher number of concurrent gamers playing at a single-moment at 1.3 million. It also states that it broke the PlayStation record for sales in its digital store (without actually providing a specific sales figure). Furthermore, the PR hammers home the point that the game's PC launch will dramatically bolster sales numbers.
What's missing here is a clear-cut, definitive statement that Destiny 2 outsold Destiny 1. There's also no sales figures for how the game performed on the Xbox One, which has closed the gap on Sony's PS4. Without a flagship console-exclusive title, Destiny 2 is probably the biggest game to launch in 2017 for the Xbone.
It's an undisputed fact that Destiny 2 is a hit, but the metrics provided so far don't reveal
what level of hit. Since this statement, Destiny 2 has also become the #1 watched game on Twitch since the launch of The Leviathan Raid. Hopefully the PC launch next month will lead to some more definitive statements as this could simply be a case of Activision and Bungie wanting to wait until the game was out for all three systems before revealing specific statistics.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bungie and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), delivered the world-renowned, first-person action game, Destiny 2, to players across the globe on September 6 on PlayStation®4 systems with additional, timed exclusive* content, and Xbox One (PlayStation®Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription, respectively, required for significant features). The original Destiny became the biggest new console video game franchise launch in history, and Destiny 2 surpassed the original’s records for engagement and digital sales in launch week. This universe will welcome players in on a new platform next month for the first time on PC. Destiny 2 PC is available for pre-order now and is coming October 24 at retail and as the first non-Blizzard game to be offered digitally via Battle.net®, Blizzard Entertainment's online gaming service.
"With franchise pre-order records broken, and record day-one performance on PlayStation Store, it’s exciting to see engagement at the highest ever week-one concurrency for the franchise. Destiny 2 is off to a strong start as the #1 console gaming launch week of the year to date," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision. "With the PC version yet to ship, Destiny 2 sets the stage for being one of the biggest video game entertainment events of the year."
Bungie CEO, Pete Parsons, said, “We hit some great milestones this week with our community.” He added, “We are blown away that we’ve had eight days in a row in Destiny 2 where we’ve seen more than one-million concurrent players grace our worlds. It’s equal parts inspiring and humbling, and we’re looking forward to showing everyone what’s coming next!”
For the third year in a row, Destiny is the #1 console-only game viewed on Twitch by minutes watched. Destiny 2, including its two betas, had more than 600M minutes watched on Twitch before the raid, a fan-favorite, endgame, 6-player gameplay experience started. The raid, called “Leviathan,” went live for players on Sept. 13 and immediately shot to the #1 position on Twitch based on total concurrent viewers.
Destiny 2 takes players on an epic journey across the universe to defend humanity from annihilation. The game welcomes new players to the universe, as well as those who have been devoted to the universe since the beginning, with an array of modes and activities to explore. In the story of Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lay in ruins, occupied by a powerful new army. Players must master new abilities and weapons to reunite the city’s forces, stand together and fight back to reclaim their home.
In Destiny 2, every player creates their own character called a “Guardian,” humanity’s chosen protectors. Players can choose from playing the cinematic, story campaign, venturing into the expansive destinations to joining in cooperative modes including Strike missions. For competitive players, Destiny 2 offers intense 4v4 multiplayer matches in ‘The Crucible’. An all-new, community-oriented feature to be implemented in Destiny 2 started rolling out on Tuesday, and is called the ‘Guided Games’ system and helps players find groups to team up with to tackle Destiny 2’s most challenging activities.