It was a long wait, but the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has now been out almost three weeks. At launch about 3 million copies were shipped according to Konami, and reviews have been predominantly positive.
Even so, Konami are nowhere near the point were breakeven has been achieved. In fact, according to a report given by Forbes, the sales must reach 5-6 million mark for the project to break even.
The reason for this is a staggering $80 million spent on production costs, allegedly a result of creator Hideo Kojima's willingness to rip out and rework sections of the game throughout its development. These snowballing expenses are also believed to be the reason for the fallout between Kojima and Konami, who were obviously not happy with the climbing costs.
Furthermore the report states that MGSV sales are on par with the sales for Metal Gear Solid 4, in spite of that game being released on just one platform. MGSV was in turn released on five platforms, and in order for game to turn a profit the sales need to remain strong for the next months. The longer it takes to reach the point where the game breaks even, the less money is likely to reach Konami's coffers as they'll earn less per sold copy once the price drops.
Still it should be noted that the profitable holiday season lies ahead and with its critical acclaim Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is in a prime position to capitalise. It was recently reported that with the exception of PES (Pro Evolution Soccer) Konami are exiting AAA and console development in favour of the lower risk mobile market.
Via, MCV.