In what has to be one of the most oddly-timed divorces in the history of business – or otherwise – Bungie announced today that it will officially split from Microsoft, its parent company since 2000, and become a privately held independent game developer once again. This comes on the heels of Halo 3’s mega-launch, which brought in $300 million in its first week and a whopping $170 million in its first 24 hours. So why did Bungie and Microsoft split up? And who gets custody of the vaunted Halo franchise?
According to Bungie’s announcement, both companies will continue to work together on the Halo franchise and will engage in a long-term development and publishing relationship for the series. Even better, Bungie said the partnership with Microsoft will include new intellectual property create and owned by the game developer. Does this mean that Bungie will return to making Macintosh games? Can we expect a follow-up to Marathon or maybe even Pathways Into Darkness? The possibilities are tantalizing.
“This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Bungie studio head Harold Ryan in a press statement. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond.”
“Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on. And they will continue to be a great partner,” said Bungie co-founder Jason Jones in a press statement. “But Bungie is like a shark. We have to keep moving to survive. We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins. Or manatees.”
Bungie will remain in Kirkland, Wash., and will become Bungie Studios LLC. Microsofto will hold a minority stake in the newly independent Bungie. Will the split delay Halo Wars, the real-time strategy Halo prequel scheduled for 2008? Probably not, since the game’s development is primarily being handled by Ensemble Studios instead of Bungie. There’s also the mystery Halo project being helmed by Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson and Wingnut Interactive, which was created by Jackson and Microsoft. The untitled project will reportedly be an episodic series, though details are still sketchy. In any event, it appears as if the Halo franchise will continue to thrive over the next few years without Bungie’s direct involvement, allowing the developer to branch out and try some new things.
Kudos to the folks in Redmond for letting Bungie go and making a new partnership that actually makes sense. If only more publishers were like Microsoft (cough, EA, cough)…
Comments (7)
"Does this mean that Bungie will return to making Macintosh games? Can we expect a follow-up to Marathon or maybe even Pathways Into Darkness? The possibilities are tantalizing."
Since when did the idea of Macintosh games become "tantalizing"???
Posted by RockHop | October 5, 2007 9:16 PM
Posted on October 5, 2007 21:16
Screw Halo. I want another MYTH game with updated graphics.
The though of having Soulblighter in another game almost makes me piss my pants.
Posted by Dan | October 5, 2007 9:21 PM
Posted on October 5, 2007 21:21
Each party made the best of a good situation.
If you're Bungie, you're done with Halo. Come on, you've been working on it at least ten years, if not longer. I'm sure they want to do something different.
If you're MSFT, this is a golden goose. It is idiotic not to try and make Halo related games. It's not greed, it's common sense. There is hunger for more. The fictional universe that has been created is overflowing with places to explore, even if they have nothing to do with Master Chief.
MSFT watched as Bungie burned the Master Chief era of the Halo universe to the ground with the ending of the story. They didn't interfere and say "Hell, no! This story can't proceed. It ties up too much!" They let it proceed.
Bungie developers know they have a good thing. Their name is what is known, and the next "Bungie" game is going to have Halo fans lined up. They don't want to leave the Microsoft "family", but their contracts are up and there's a real incentive to go start a new company and be free. I mean, money is not the problem for them.
MSFT managed to keep a close tie to a cherished studio, while giving them the freedom to continue to build games for the Xbox 360. Bungie gets top priority treatment from MSFT. You better believe Bungie games will get all the press they deserve in the future. In the meantime, MSFT moves forward with common sense Halo related projects... not cheap Disney-esque sequels.
MSFT made the best of what normally is a bad split.
Posted by CGomez | October 5, 2007 9:36 PM
Posted on October 5, 2007 21:36
Sounds like Bungie wants to make Playstation 3 games.
Posted by epaalx | October 6, 2007 5:37 AM
Posted on October 6, 2007 05:37
@ Dan:
Ditto on that. Sadly the Myth franchise is now owned by another publisher (2K Games if I remember correctly), so it's not up to Bungie to decide that.
Posted by Alessandro | October 7, 2007 6:46 PM
Posted on October 7, 2007 18:46
MYTH Rocked! I loved that game Myth 2 was a little sketchy though. They were one of the first to incorporate a physics model and terrain advantage.
It was a sad day when Halo was born and even more so when Microsoft took over.
Posted by Lucid | October 7, 2007 7:25 PM
Posted on October 7, 2007 19:25
I bought the first Halo for pc and like the editor wrote, I found the gameplay to be very redundant. The multiplayer did get me hooked a little, but it was very short lived. I always enjoyed more BF2 and CoD. I never bought Halo 2 and will never care to play it. I saw it on my friends XBOX and saw nothing but more of the same crap from the first. Halo 3 I would like to try, but never on a console, it rapes FPS gameplay. I also tried Gears of War and got bored after 5 mins. If I'm to play console, give me Madden or Gran Turismo. That Wii looks pretty cool for parties though.
Posted by Jonathan | October 11, 2007 7:56 AM
Posted on October 11, 2007 07:56