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Developer Bungie Splits With Publisher Activision, Will Keep World Shooter Series Destiny (kotaku.com)

Posted by msmash on from the moving-on dept.

Developer Bungie and publisher Activision are splitting up in an industry-shaking divorce that will see the shared world shooter series Destiny enter fully into Bungie's control. From a report: This development comes after years of tension between the two companies -- tension that has existed since before the first Destiny even shipped. Bungie, the studio that created and has led development on the franchise, told employees during a team meeting this afternoon, framing it as fantastic news for a studio that has long grown sick of dealing with its publisher. Employees cheered and popped champagne, according to one person who was there.

[...] One of the most significant tensions between Bungie and Activision had long been the annualized schedule, which mandated the release of a new Destiny game or expansion every fall. Now, separated from Activision, Bungie will no longer be constrained to that schedule. "We'll continue to deliver on the existing Destiny roadmap, and we're looking forward to releasing more seasonal experiences in the coming months," the company said, "as well as surprising our community with some exciting announcements about what lies beyond."

6 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Next? by McFortner · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can we get Blizzard split off next, please? Activision is too worried about new characters to fix the problems they have with the game as it is.

    --
    Beware of Sales Reps bearing gifts.
    1. Re: Next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      At this point, I'd take the bloody stumps of Blizzard over the intertwined fuckery that is Activision Blizzard. Things can still get worse with A-B, but we're quickly approaching a day where that statement will be false.

  2. Finally free? by Pfhorrest · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I thought that when Bungie finally broke away from Microsoft, we might see a return to the old Bungie, from the days of Marathon and Myth.

    But then Destiny was... not that... and some people say that that's more Activision's fault than Bungie's.

    Maybe now that they're finally free and back to self-publishing like they always used to, before the dark times, before the acquisition, maybe now we'll finally see a return of the old Bungie?

    I'm not counting on it. The only person still around from the olden days is Jason. Even Robnar is gone now, and I can't even find where to.

    --
    -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
    "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    1. Re:Finally free? by dostert · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I thought that when Bungie finally broke away from Microsoft, we might see a return to the old Bungie, from the days of Marathon and Myth.

      But then Destiny was... not that... and some people say that that's more Activision's fault than Bungie's.

      Maybe now that they're finally free and back to self-publishing like they always used to, before the dark times, before the acquisition, maybe now we'll finally see a return of the old Bungie?

      I'm not counting on it. The only person still around from the olden days is Jason. Even Robnar is gone now, and I can't even find where to.

      Marathon and Myth days were great. Things I remember most were the Letters to the Webmaster and the annual April Fools update to Pimps at Sea

    2. Re:Finally free? by Snufu · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The people who created Marathon, Myth, and Halo are long gone. Expect more of the same, just less often.

  3. Re:Destiny 2 is garbage. by alvinrod · · Score: 2

    MechWarrior 2 was pretty good back in the day. They're mainly a publisher though, so they haven't actually developed all that many games themselves, but if you include those they had a lot of great games like Pitfall, Quake II, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, and Rome Total War where they acted as the publisher.