Why Is Activision Spending $500 Million On One Game?

is planning to spend a colossal amount of money on just one video game. According to

, the company -- which is famous for producing the

franchise -- could spend as much as $500 million on

. Set for release on September 9, 2014,

is the result of a joint venture between Activision and Bungie, the creator of the acclaimed

franchise. The two companies first announced their partnership in April 2010. Activision's $500 million estimate is massive and could dwarf the budgets of other games. But the enormous fee is not limited to game development alone. Some of that money is being spent on marketing, infrastructure support, royalties, packaging, and other (unspecified) costs.

Regardless of the expense, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter thinks that

will prove to be a wise investment for Activision. "First, they have already sunk four years into development, so they have a basis for deciding to spend on marketing and building infrastructure," Pachter told Benzinga. "Second, they have a pretty solid record with franchise building, so it's hard to second guess them at all." When asked if this $500 million expenditure could set the precedent for the game industry (similar to how $200 million is the new norm for Hollywood), Pachter replied, "No, it's not the 'precedent.' That's why it's news."

For better or worse,

success is likely to be compared directly to Activision's primary franchise,

.

, the next chapter in the series, will be released on November 4, 2014 -- just two months after

arrives. Historically, the

has

, but that could be do to platform limitations.

is a

owned property that only appears on Xbox game consoles (and occasionally on PC).

and

are third-party games and are therefore published on multiple game platforms. This could give Activision a large enough customer base to turn

into the next big franchise. But even if it proves to be one of the biggest games of the year, it could have a difficult time competing with the industry leader.

, the most recent

game, has already sold

. Disclosure: