Activision says Destiny: The Taken King sets record for day one PlayStation 4 downloads

Activision Publishing and game developer Bungie announced today that Destiny: The Taken King is the most downloaded day-one game in PlayStation history.

The expansion to last year’s online shooter launched yesterday. It also set a new day-one franchise high for both total players and peak online concurrency. In doing so, the Taken King surpassed the original Destiny launch day last September, which was itself the biggest new video game franchise launch in history.

“Destiny: The Taken King is officially the most downloaded game on day-one in PlayStation history and set a new benchmark for both total Destiny players and peak online concurrency on day-one, so it’s safe to say the Destiny franchise continues to gain momentum,” said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg in a statement. “Along with our talented partners at Bungie, we cannot wait to watch the community continue to grow and tackle the King’s Fall Raid kicking off on Friday.”

The Destiny Legendary Edition, which includes two previous expansions and The Taken King, sells for $60. Destiny: The Taken King is available as a standalone purchase for $40.

Bungie was founded in 1991, and it previously created the Halo video game series. Microsoft took over the Halo series and created its own internal studio, 343 Industries, to run that franchise. Bungie split off on its own to create Destiny, which Activision publishes. Bungie has been in the news a lot over a dispute with its former composer, but this announcement takes the company’s fortunes in a happier direction.

PlayStation gamers receive access to a host of additional content for The Taken King, including a Strike, a Crucible map, three sets of armor and an exotic weapon. These are timed exclusives until at least next fall. Both The Taken King and the Legendary Edition include a character boost, called “Spark of Light,” a one-time increase to level 25 which is the minimum level required to play The Taken King content.

Besides the PlayStation 4, the game is available on the Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 consoles.