What can only be described as a complete shock, Activision has announced today that it has entered into a 10-year worldwide exclusive distribution deal with former Microsoft partner, Bungie. The agreement is geared to allow Bungie, the famed developer of the Halo and Myth series, to release its future intellectual properties “next big action game universe” around the world for multiple platforms.
What is important to note, in the wake of the Infinity Ward-Activision dispute, is that Bungie will remain an independent company and will own its intellectual property.
What could go wrong?
Bungie and Activision released the following statements regarding their new agreement:
“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. “From working together over the past nine months on this agreement, it is clear that Activision supports our commitment to giving our fans the best possible gaming experiences.”
“Bungie is one of the premier studios in our industry and we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with their talented team over the next decade,” stated Thomas Tippl, Chief Operating Officer of Activision Blizzard. “Bungie has developed some of the most compelling and successful games, multiplayer experiences and thriving fan communities, and this alliance underscores our long-standing commitment to foster the industry’s best creative talent. Our unprecedented partnership with Bungie will enable us to broaden our pipeline of exciting new games as we continue to strengthen our industry position and pursue long-term growth opportunities.”
For Activision, this partnership could help offset the loss of Infinity Ward. And on the bright side for gamers, PlayStation 3 owners will likely see future Bungie products on their platform.
What do you think of this new alliance?
[UPDATE 10:59 a.m.]
Microsoft has released the following statement regarding the deal:
Our partnership with Bungie as a first-party developer for Xbox 360 remains unchanged, and right now we’re deeply engaged with them on the development of ‘Halo: Reach,’ which is poised to be the biggest game of 2010.
[UPDATE #2 12:17 p.m.]
Bungie co-founder and Studio Creative Director, Jason Jones, will be heading up the new Bungie IP that will be exclusively distributed by Activision. Jones will be leading a team that is separate from that of the group working on Halo: Reach.
Unwilling to stay silent on the sidelines, Sony has now released a statement via Twitter regarding the new deal. Sony spokesperson Patrick Seybold posted the following:
Congrats to Bungie. Marrying their creative minds and incredible talent to the power of PS3 will be like giving PS3 fans Halo on steroids.
Cue the fanboy flame war.
[UPDATE #3 12:48 p.m.]
In an interview with VG247, Brian Jarrard just confirmed that Halo: Reach will be the last Halo game developed by Bungie:
So, [Halo] Reach, for all intents and purposes, is definitely Bungie’s final Halo game. Right now our plan is that the majority of our team at the conclusion of Reach will roll right into production on our next big universe. We have Jason Jones and a lot of the original guys who were on the core Halo [inaudible] who have been working on bringing the framework and the bones of what we’re going to do next in anticipation of having to receive the full might of the studio.When Reach concludes, of course we’re still going to have some people, a chunk of the team that’s going to be focused on supporting Reach and supporting that community. We definitely have a relationship there. In some degrees we owe it to our fans, and that’s Bungie’s way, to make sure that we do right by our game and by our fans. So, if you like [inaudible] we’ll start have an attachment to Halo: Reach, but we definitely won’t be producing any more Halo projects beyond Reach.
Still unclear is who will take over the Halo franchise for Microsoft.
Source: PRNewsWire, G4Tv, Bungie.net, VG247
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Bungie going to Activision has a development house could quite a few things, both good and bad. With Activision's love of sequels, I'm not sure Bungie will be able to accommodate them in that manner. Ten years is a long time for a game company and if Bungie's going to be consistently cranking out material for them, more power to them, I just don't want them to turn into the “Madden” of first person shooters/action games.
With Infinity Ward more or less dismantled and the Call of Duty franchise stepping into new territory (third person?), a new action franchise is something gamers are going to be looking forward to in terms of it both being fun and revolutionizing the genre in some way. With Halo: Reach being the last game in that franchise and the Call of Duty series becoming…excessive (to me, at least), what's going to happen to first person shooters?
'10 years is a long time'
games take on average 2-3 years to fully make so they would only be releasing around 3-4 games until the contract reaches its end.
i think bungie will be doing the 2 CoD games we where told would be released around next year.
knowing bungie they will do a good job for both the fans and the money whores (CEO/share holders)
This will be interesting. I'm glad Bungie didn't sell their soul to Activision and still are in the driver's seat for the most part. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new universe creations they come up with.
This is b******* x box for eva screw ps3
Uhhhh… CoD series makes me sick. knowing bungie is going round that area is going to put me of FPS forever. Back to RTS then…