Bungie goes its own way; MS keeps Halo rights

Stephen Withers
Monday, 08 October 2007 03:54

IT Industry - Listed Tech

Halo developer Bungie has regained its independence, although Microsoft has keeping a minority stake in the new company.

"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," said Jason Jones, Bungie founder and partner.

"And they will continue to be a great partner. 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,” he added.

Microsoft Game Studios will continue to publish Halo titles developed by Bungie.

"Our collaboration with Bungie has resulted in Halo becoming an enduring mainstream hit," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. "We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through Halo-related titles and new IP created by Bungie."

Kim said Microsoft Game Studios will work with other partners including Peter Jackson on Halo-related products.

While the new arrangement frees Bungie to develop games for systems other than Xbox 360, “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms," said Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie.

Bungie began as a developer of games for the Macintosh.