If you're an Activision shareholder, today comes with some exceedingly good news -- the publisher's just-launched sci-fi shooter Destiny has already sold in $500m (£310m) worth of the game, making it the most successful new gaming franchise of all time. If you're a gamer enjoying it, it's pretty good news too, as it essentially guarantees future instalments.

Normally, "big game has sold X" wouldn't be terribly newsworthy, but in Destiny's case, that figure is particularly auspicious. The game, from Halo creators Bungie, was reportedly the most expensive ever developed, with $500m being the figure commonly attributed to its cost. Even though Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg confirmed to Wired.co.uk that a substantial chunk of that included marketing costs, that Destiny has already recouped that half-billion dollars is frankly astonishing. "Based on extraordinary audience demand, retail and first party orders worldwide have exceeded $500 million for Destiny," Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, said via press release.


However, this figure only represents the value of stock sold to retailers, rather than a sell through, which would be numbers bought by consumers. Those figures are yet to be released, as is whether the game has become instantly profitable as a result.

Perhaps more interesting is that Destiny has also become the highest selling day-one digital release in console history, marking a huge swing to virtual purchases of "triple A" games. Activision's announcement is unclear on whether digital sales are included in the $500m figure, or an additional milestone, but either way it seems the company's investment in Bungie's ambitious vision has already paid off.

Update, 13/09/2014: Activision has confirmed to Wired.co.uk that the $500m figure is inclusive of digital sales.