Fact Check: Bungie & Activision

Today has been very interesting. The over-reactions to partial and assumed information has been even more interesting. Now that the dust has settled, I’d like to point out a few things, manage some expectations, and answer a few questions folks have thrown my way.

Activision did not buy Bungie. Bungie remains an independent studio.
When Bungie sought its independence from Microsoft in 2007, it was not a publicity stunt. For some good background on why they went indie, I recommend this article from OXM called “Life After Halo”. It discusses why Bungie wanted its independence in the first place (by all accounts, their relationship with Microsoft has been very positive), and what the studio had in mind for the future. The third and fourth pages of that article contain some really interesting quotes about where Bungie’s head has been for the last two years.

Bungie controls its own IP.
This new partnership is based around a new intellectual property that Bungie is currently developing. It will remain Bungie’s IP to control creatively as they see fit, even though Activision will be working with them on it. I know a lot of people are concerned about who has creative control over what, and I made a food analogy to try to explain what most developer relationships are like. With this new IP, it’s very clearly Bungie’s and it will remain that.

Bungie is no longer console-exclusive to Xbox platforms.
“We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise,” said Harold Ryan, President of Bungie, in the press release. This is pretty fantastic news if you just want to play games on whatever system you own. No platforms have been announced for whatever this new project is, but it is clear that this deal does enable Bungie to bring their games to multiple platforms. And as a gamer, I like hearing that.

Bungie does more than just shooters.
A lot of people have made jokes/assumptions that this new game is “just going to be Halo again” or stuff like that. When I think of Bungie, I obviously think of the Halo series…but the company made its first impression on me with the first two Myth games, which were groundbreaking 3D RTS games that even I, a dreadful RTS player, thoroughly enjoyed and reviewed very highly when I was at GamePro. (Take 2 now owns that franchise.) I also remember Oni, the anime-inspired third-person action adventure game that Rockstar published on PlayStation 2.  Considering those and weighing some of the intriguing statements from that OXM article that “the whole team was on the same wavelength” about what to do next, I am putting my assumptions aside.  But my expectations are high because…

Jason Jones is heading up this new project.
Both parties have confirmed that the game at the core of this deal is already in development, but Bungie’s blog post did note that, while one team has been working on Halo: Reach, “Another core team, led by our co-founder and Studio Creative Director, Jason Jones, has already begun laying the groundwork to bring our newest universe, stories, and characters to life.”

Bungie is nobody’s fool.
Bungie’s Brian Jerrard spoke to G4 today and said “we were able to pretty much get the exact deal that we sought to get and retain all the things that are most important to Bungie. That alone has been super exciting and invigorating, as well.” I do not believe that Bungie would have entered into this agreement were it not one that would make them happy and confident.

It’ll be a while before we see anything.
This is just an announcement, and Bungie is focused on finishing up and launching Reach for the time being. Other than the fact that we know it’s an action game and that Bungie is building a long-term plan around it, we won’t be hearing any specifics for some time.

Brian Jerrard has given a lot of interviews today and I’m supposed to get a chance to talk to him, so I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.