Halo: Reach mints $200 million in 24 hours
Microsoft hailing its own Xbox 360-exclusive shooter as "biggest US entertainment launch of 2010"; unit sales figures not provided.
To the delight of gamers and to the horror of significant others everywhere, Halo: Reach went on sale on Tuesday. Microsoft pulled out all the stops in promoting the critically hailed sci-fi shooter's launch, staging midnight sales events at retailers across the country and waging a media campaign with Covenant-like intensity.
One part of Microsoft's promotion of Halo: Reach is the inevitable announcement of the Xbox 360 exclusive's massive day-one haul. In the first 24 hours after the game went on sale on September 14, the game raked in over $200 million in the United States and Europe. (Canada was not mentioned.) Though not enough to beat the multiplatform Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's record of $310 million in 24 hours, it was enough to best Halo 3's $170 million day-one haul in September 2007. The last Halo game, 2009's Halo 3: ODST, made $125 million in just over two weeks.
Microsoft did not offer unit sales figures for Halo: Reach but did hail it as the "biggest US entertainment launch of 2010." It's the last game in the series to be developed by its creator, Bungie. Once owned by Microsoft, the studio split away in 2007 to become an independent entity in which Microsoft held a large stake. Then, this April, the suburban Seattle shop announced a 10-year partnership with Activision that gave the latter company exclusive publishing rights to an all-new intellectual property.
Unlike Halo, the new series will be multiplatform and will be wholly owned by Bungie itself. Microsoft owns the Halo IP and will continue on with the series, having created an entire division, 343 Industries, to further extend the brand into comics, anime, books, and other forms of media.
Pepper Grinder GameSpot Video Review Wild Bastards Is More Than Just A Void Bastards Western Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road – Worldwide Beta Test Demo Trailer Visions Of Mana Is A New And Vivid Take For The Series | GameSpot Hands-on Preview Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion - Official Announcement Trailer Escape From Tarkov - Official "Winter Tales" Live Action Trailer Call of Duty: Warzone - Exploring Rebirth Island Trailer Modern Warfare III & Warzone - New Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Bundles Trailer Predator: Hunting Grounds - Official "The Hunt Begins Again" Reveal Trailer Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator | Tokyo Delight DLC Gameplay Trailer ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 – Legend Dawn Pack – DLC Character Pack 6 Trailer The Last Case of Benedict Fox - DEFINITIVE EDITION Official Launch trailer
Please enter your date of birth to view this video
By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com
Join the conversation