Forbes: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Sales Need to Double Before it Breaks Even - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 21 September 2015 / 7,646 Views

Lifetime sales for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain need to double before the game breaks even, according to Forbes.

It's previously been reported that the game cost Konami $80 million to develop, plus the cost of marketing the game. It has already shipped three million units worldwide, so according to Forbes' estimates it will need to ship an additional three million units simply to break even on these costs.

First week sales for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain are reported to be similar to those for Metal Gear Solid 4, however it should be noted that Metal Gear Solid 4 only launched on one platform, whereas Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is available for five different platforms.

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A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials.You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

14 Comments

NinjaFox (on 21 September 2015)

Little addition should be noted, the game has shipped 3 million physical copies. Figures aren't in on digital copies, but it's definitely been leading the charts. I'd also expect the money from Ground Zeroes isn't being factored in, which I doubt was budgeted separately from Phantom Pain. Honestly, it sounds like Konami just went full Hollywood and spent more than double the production budget on advertising. For a game that practically sells on its name alone.

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NightDragon83 (on 21 September 2015)

The bigger news tidbit here I think is that 1st week sales of MGSV are "similar" to MGSIV's despite V being released across multiple platforms instead of a console exclusive like IV??? Either Forbes' sources are way off here, or this is a huge disappointment in terms of sales compared to its predecessor, which was a PS3 exclusive at a time when the PS3 was still struggling.

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KingdomHeartsFan (on 21 September 2015)

They need to sell 4m to break even, Konami gets $20 per copy sold...I'm sorry but this article is ridiculous they don't need to sell 6m to break even. Also development costs include making the FOX Engine which was supposed to be used in future titles before Konami went full retard.

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Ka-pi96 (on 21 September 2015)

They are also taking in to account the cost of marketing the game which wouldn't be included in its development budget.

cheshirescat (on 21 September 2015)

The $80 million figure doesn't include marketing, which was likely in the tens of millions, so it may well need to hit 5-6 million in order to break even. Anything they may make on the fox engine is just gravy.

NinjaFox (on 21 September 2015)

Really? Only $20 per copy sold?

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KingdomHeartsFan (on 21 September 2015)

Oh ya but I doubt they need 6m to cover everything, I haven't even seen a MGSV ad anywhere, and as someone else pointed out MGS GS sales brought in a lot of money, I wouldn't be surprised if that covers marketing costs on its own.

Nautilus (on 21 September 2015)

Exactly.Pobably ground zeroes already paid half the development costs.This is sad to see that they dont make a complete research of everything before they make an article.

contestgamer (on 21 September 2015)

Ive seen MGS5 ads 24/7. The average AA game spends the same amount on marketing, if not more as they did on development.

chidori-chan2 (on 21 September 2015)

I really don't see any games that aren't Call of duty, Battlefield, or FIFA doing those sorts of numbers. ....

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Sixteenvolt420 (on 21 September 2015)

Forbes are a bunch of idiots, when it comes to games. Have you seen their top games of 2015 list? It includes Silent Hills, which was canceled.

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pokoko (on 21 September 2015)

I just read the linked article. It seems to be written by a child who thinks individual sentences are paragraphs and it's based on pure speculation and sensationalism. This is not a professional work in any shape or form. It's also from a Forbes CONTRIBUTOR, by the way. Take the information in this article with a bucket of salt.