It’s Official: Bungie Cuts the Cord – Leaves Master Chief Behind
It’s official. Bungie is now a privately held independent company, meaning they are no longer owned by Microsoft. Although Bungie is not owned by Microsoft anymore, Microsoft still owns a minority equity interest in Bungie.
As part of the transaction, both companies will still have a development and publishing relationship focused on the continuing success of the “Halo” franchise.
“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 Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie. “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.”
Bungie was founded in 1991 and came to success with the first two “Myth” games, but “Halo” became global success for them when they worked with Microsoft.
“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. 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,” said Jason Jones, Bungie founder and partner.
It’s uncertain now if Bungie will develop games for other gaming consoles, but this can change in the near future.
