Italy's daily coronavirus death toll and new cases fall

World's most expensive video game goes on sale: Destiny cost more than £310 MILLION to make - dwarfing even Hollywood's most extravagant budget


  • Game is set 700 years in the future in a war between humans and aliens
  • It's predicted to be the biggest title of 2014 and cost $75 million more than Avatar - Hollywood's most expensive blockbuster film to date
  • Game was developed by studio Bungie, maker of the Halo franchise, and published by Activision, which is behind the Call of Duty series
  • Destiny smashed the record for the most expensive video game - held by Grand Theft Auto V - which launched last year
  • The title is already the most pre-ordered video game in history
  • Gamers queued through the night to buy a copy of the video game
  • It's available for PC, XBox and PlayStation and costs around £45
It is predicted to be the biggest video game of 2014 and cost a staggering £310 million ($500 million) to make.
Destiny - a game set 700 years in the future during a war between humans and aliens - has gone on sale, with fans queuing during the night to get their hands on the highly anticipated release.
It is the most expensive video game ever made, dwarfing the most expensive Hollywood blockbuster – Avatar – by £47 million ($75 million).
Scroll down for videos
Destiny, a game set 700 years in the future during a war between humans and aliens, has gone on sale, with fans queuing during the night to get their hands on the highly anticipated release. A screenshot is pictured
Destiny, a game set 700 years in the future during a war between humans and aliens, has gone on sale, with fans queuing during the night to get their hands on the highly anticipated release. A screenshot is pictured
The game was developed by studio Bungie, maker of the Halo franchise, and published by Activision, which is behind the Call of Duty series.
Destiny is set 700 years in the future, with Earth and humanity in the midst of a war with a mysterious entity called The Darkness and its various alien allies.
The game is an online multiplayer shooter that blurs different game genres such as role playing, rolling it into one adventure where players can meet each other.
They can work together to defeat enemies, playing as characters such as hunters, warlocks and titans – but no-one known then the game will ‘end’.
Destiny has smashed the record for the most expensive video game, which was held by Grand Theft Auto V. It launched last year and reportedly cost around £170 million ($275 million) to develop and market. 
Destiny is the most expensive video game ever made, dwarfing the most expensive Hollywood blockbuster ¿ Avatar ¿ by £47 million $75 million. A screenshot is pictured
Destiny is the most expensive video game ever made, dwarfing the most expensive Hollywood blockbuster – Avatar – by £47 million $75 million. A screenshot is pictured

MOST EXPENSIVE VIDEO GAMES OF ALL TIME

Destiny cost a staggering $500 million (£310 million) to make and is the world’s most expensive video game.

Grand Theft Auto V, which launched last year, cost $265 million (£165 million).

It was predicted at the time of launch that the driving game would generate $1.6 billion (£1 billion) during its first year on sale, with 25 million copies to be sold.

The Grand Theft Auto series has accumulated sales of 135 million copies since its 1997 debut.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was the third most expensive game to make at $200 million (£124 million) in 2011.

Final Fantasy VII for the original PlayStation cost $145 million (£90 million) in 1997.

Max Payne 3, released in 2012, cost $105 million (£65 million).

Globally, the video game market is now thought to generate £48 billion ($80 billion) a year.
But it seems the investment was worth it as the title exceeded worldwide sales of £500 million ($800 million) on its first day.
It was predicted at the time of launch that the driving game would generate £1 billion ($1.6 billion) during its first year on sale, with 25 million copies to be sold.
The makers of Destiny will hope that their enormous investment will pay off in a similar way.
Globally, the video game market is now thought to generate £48 billion ($80 billion) a year, with increasingly large budgets for titles.
In July, over 4.6 million people tested Destiny in what became the biggest console beta of this console generation.
Pictures posted by the retailer Game, showed long queues outside branches around the UK, which opened late especially for the launch, 
A launch party in London was attended by fans of the game including Tinie Tempah, Professor Green, boxer Anthony Joshua and footballer Ashley Young.
The title is already the most pre-ordered video game in history and has won more than 180 awards and nominations.
Gamers around the world reported their first experiences of it on Twitter. One user wrote: ‘Am I gonna be tired at work tomorrow? Yes. Was it worth it? YES!’
Some couldn't wait to get their hands on the game, others were watching the clock as they waited to get home from work to play it for the first time.
One tweeted: ‘Hurry up postman, don't keep me waiting for Destiny all day!’
Harold Ryan, Bungie president, said: ‘Destiny is the game we’ve always wanted to make.’
‘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.
A launch party in London was attended by fans of the game including Tinie Tempah, Professor Green (pictured playing the game), boxer Anthony Joshua and footballer Ashley Young
Images posted by retailer Game (pictured) showed long queues outside branches around the country, which opened late especially for the launch. A queue at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, London, is pictured
The game is an online multiplayer shooter that blurs different game genres such as role playing, rolling it into one adventure where players can meet each other
The game is an online multiplayer shooter that blurs different game genres such as role playing, rolling it into one adventure where players can meet each other
The game is an online multiplayer shooter that blurs different game genres such as role playing, rolling it into one adventure where players can meet each other. They can work together to defeat enemies, playing as characters such as hunters (pictured left), warlocks (right) and titans

Professor Green talks about blockbuster video game Destiny
Destiny is set 700 years in the future, with Earth and humanity in the midst of a war with a mysterious entity called The Darkness and its various alien allies. A screenshot is pictured
Destiny is set 700 years in the future, with Earth and humanity in the midst of a war with a mysterious entity called The Darkness and its various alien allies. A screenshot is pictured
‘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.’
Destiny costs around £45 and people playing it on their Xbox One, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 4 console will need to sign up to gaming services to play online, which cost around £35 a year.
There is already an expansion pack set to arrive in time for Christmas, which promises to ‘extend the Destiny adventure’ with new story missions, cooperative activities and new weapons to earn for around £20.
Gamers around the world reported their first experiences of the game on Twitter. One user wrote: 'Am I gonna be tired at work tomorrow? Yes. Was it worth it? YES!'. Here, rapper Tinie Tempah plays Destiny at the game's launch event
Gamers around the world reported their first experiences of the game on Twitter. One user wrote: 'Am I gonna be tired at work tomorrow? Yes. Was it worth it? YES!'. Here, rapper Tinie Tempah plays Destiny at the game's launch event
The title is already the most pre-ordered video game in history and has won over 180 awards and nominations. Here, people queue to get their hands on the title late at night, outside Game
The title is already the most pre-ordered video game in history and has won over 180 awards and nominations. Here, people queue to get their hands on the title late at night, outside Game

WHAT IS DESTINY AND HOW TO YOU PLAY IT?

Described as a ‘shared world shooter,’ Destiny lets gamers play together in a huge online world.
It’s a mixture of the first person shooter and role playing game genres.
Players choose to be either a hunter, warlock or titan to battle aliens.
The story is set 700 years in the future when a massive planet-like alien called The Traveller arrives on Earth to help humans spread across the galaxy with superior technology.
But Earth’s protective alien is tracked down and almost destroyed, only protecting The Tower skyscraper – the setting for most of Destiny - leaving unfriendly aliens to raid the rest of the solar system, The Guardian reported.
In the game, players work together to slay aliens and complete missions to unlock new weapons and abilities to protect what is left of Earth.
Victories throughout the game help players ‘level up’ to open up new abilities.
All players start with a basic spaceship and mission map, showing activities available throughout the solar system, including quick ‘strike’ missions and longer explorations on Earth, the moon, Venus and Mars.
Players can communicate with friends or strangers who they invite into their team via gaming headsets.
Some missions require players to create teams to work together. Players don’t shoot each other, but work together to eliminate the enemy aliens.
Despite this, the game has an age rating of 16+ as there is a lot of violence used against the aliens.
There is no traditional end point of the game, with lots of missions to complete – and more in the pipeline.
In July, over 4.6 million people tested Destiny in what became the biggest console beta of this console generation. A screenshot showing the beauty of the graphics is pictured
In July, over 4.6 million people tested Destiny in what became the biggest console beta of this console generation. A screenshot showing the beauty of the graphics is pictured