fWithout a doubt, plenty of Destiny 2 fans are gearing up for next week's Year 2 reveal stream on Twitch to learn what's in store for the future of the science fiction shooter when it comes to content releasing in September of this year. While Bungie is surely ready for next Tuesday, too, the video game developer also seems to have other irons in the fire that are unrelated to D2, for the studio officially announced a partnership today with the Chinese Internet technology company NetEase to create a brand new intellectual property.

This much was revealed in a new Bungie blog post, with the developer stating that its "long-term goal is to become an entertainment company that sustains many worlds simultaneously," with NetEase's "industry expertise" helping such a dream become a reality. The developer didn’t provide specific details about the new project to come, but it did state that the Chinese Internet tech firm will assist in the "support [of] separate teams inside Bungie to bring our newest ambitions to life."

Understandably, Bungie's decision to publicly acknowledge its partnership with NetEase will likely be of some concern to Destiny fans, as this could indicate that the developer's interests for the future lie elsewhere. However, the developer has assured Guardians that Destiny will not be impacted by the association with NetEase, as Bungie stated in its most recent blog post, "Our commitment to that world is not diminished by this announcement."

For those unaware, NetEase has created many games for the Chinese market and has even brought in foreign titles from publishers such as Blizzard. For instance, the Chinese Internet technology company operates both Overwatch and World of Warcraft in the Eastern nation's mainland. Bearing this in mind, not only will NetEase act as a powerful publishing partner to Bungie, but also it will provide the studio behind Destiny with access to China, which has quickly grown to become the largest gaming market on the planet.

All things considered, while Bungie is promising Destiny fans that it's devoted to the series, this partnership with NetEase could be the first step toward Activision eventually purchasing the rights to the science fiction shooter franchise in order to distribute it to one of its internal studios. After all, such a notion doesn't seem too farfetched when one takes into account the fact that Bungie once decided to part ways with Halo and Microsoft in order to pursue making Destiny.

Bungie’s next project with NetEase has yet to receive an official name or release date.

Source: Bungie