By the end of pre-orders & launch, Destiny has already raked in half a billion dollars.

In a launch that can only be described as massive, Bungie's newest franchise Destiny has crushed records to set titanic milestones. Counting pre-orders and yesterday's launch, Destiny had already sold a staggering $500 million. That's roughly more than 8.3 million copies. By the end of day one.

For perspective, Halo: Reach – Bungie's last Halo title – had lifetime sales of 9.6 million. (VGChartz) Even the monolith Halo 3 took over 3 months to hit 8.1 million. Let that sink in. Sure, we're talking about a game on four consoles vs. one, but the time difference is 100-fold.

Even if the bloated development cost rumors of $500 million were true, Bungie and Activision are already in a very comfortable position. There's absolutely no doubt we'll be seeing much more from the franchise in years to come. If the '00s were for Halo, the '10s are for Destiny. We're in for a delightful decade.

Having played Destiny for nine hours yesterday, I can attest for the game's sales: it's just that good. If you're one of the seven people who haven't played Destiny yet, grab your friends and join us. We've got a world to save.

Colt "ShdwFlm" Casey
Deputy Editor