Halo Games Maker to Be Independent of Microsoft

[Plex]

Eric Elton, an environmental artist at Bungie, working on a Halo video game in Kirkland, Wash.

Microsoft said yesterday that it was giving up its controlling ownership of Bungie Software, the video game subsidiary that developed the hugely popular Halo franchise, including its latest iteration, Halo 3.

MicrosoftBungie, based in Kirkland, Wash., said it planned to return to its roots as an independent game studio, a move that eventually will cost Microsoft exclusive ties to one of the most successful and sought-after teams of game developers.

Harold Ryan, president and studio head of Bungie, said that he had been working for months on a plan to separate the studio from Microsoft, based in nearby Redmond, Wash. Mr. Ryan said that the companies had a good working relationship, but that developers at Bungie yearned to work for themselves, not a corporate owner.

�It�s an emotionally creative point of view,� he said of the decision to take the studio independent. �That�s the state we wanted to be in.�

Neither Mr. Ryan, nor Shane Kim, the head of Microsoft�s game studios, would discuss the financial terms. Microsoft originally acquired Bungie in 2000 for an undisclosed amount.

Bungie�s Halo games have been of singular significance to Microsoft in the development of its video game machine business.

Halo has been available exclusively on Microsoft�s Xbox video game consoles. That has meant the game�s popularity has helped drive consumers to the Xbox consoles rather than to competing systems made by Nintendo and Sony.

Microsoft said that since Halo 3 hit the market last week, it had rung up more than $300 million in sales. It has been selling at a faster pace than Halo and Halo 2, which combined sold nearly 15 million copies, Microsoft has said.

Mr. Kim said the separation furthered Microsoft�s aim of getting blockbuster hits for its consoles. �It was in our best interest to support Bungie�s desire to return to its independent roots,� he said.

At least initially, important aspects of the relationship between Microsoft and Bungie will remain intact.

Mr. Ryan said that Bungie planned to continue to develop games exclusively for the Xbox platform. He said that at some point, Bungie would have the right to develop games for other platforms, but he declined to say when.

Bungie has 113 employees. Evan Wilson, a video game industry analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, said that leading employees of Bungie had bought out majority ownership from Microsoft. �Bungie and Microsoft clearly had different creative directions,� Mr. Wilson said.

He added, �Bungie lost some key employees over the years, which while not uncommon for studios, may be an indication of that.�

NYTimes

[Plex]

Why Bungie Left Microsoft?

You didn�t think Bungie�s long-time relationship with the Redmond behemoth was all roses and kisses, did you?
Microsoft is famous for how bad it treats its partners and for its �moody� way of dealing with things, and the fruitful collaboration with Bungie is no exception. For instance, the recently launched Zune 2 is no longer manufactured by Toshiba because Microsoft thought it has to do everything �in house�. And not even a year has passed since Zune's launch...

If we are to talk about the Halo franchise, let me just remind you about how Masterchief�s foray into the mobile world got buried because of Microsoft�s lack of interest.

Back in September 2005, French developer In-Fusio had announced (in collaboration with Microsoft) the publication of a suite of mobile applications based on the "Halo" franchise created by Bungie Studios.

But, according to the suit filled by In-Fusio in U.S. District Court in Seattle in January this year, Microsoft decided to terminate the deal because In-Fusio hadn't made the second of four scheduled $500,000 payments. In-Fusio argued in the suit that they didn't make that second payment because Microsoft hasn't lived up to its own obligations. What exactly were those obligations?, you might ask. They simply had to approve a couple of Halo programming designs. They didn�t. During the 11 months that preceded the In-Fusio�s lawsuit, Microsoft persistently refused to accept game design concepts or simply ignored them, without little or no explanation.

With these details in mind you�ll understand better why Bungie is so keen on breaking up with Microsoft. Officially, they�re OK with their business relationship. Unofficially, it happened just like in In-Fusio�s case: community spokesperson Frank O'Connor, interviewed by Firing Squad, revealed that Bungie had to wait for Microsoft to approve almost everything, and I can only imagine how excruciating these 7 years must have been for the Halo developers (Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000). Just think of what high expectations everyone had with Halo 3 (including Microsoft of course, which sees the title as a �system seller�) and you�ll understand why I�ve used the term �excruciating��

O�Connor added that the decision to part ways with the cash cow (aka Microsoft) was made a year ago, but that the transition from a wholly-owned company to an independent developer will be assisted by unnamed �experts�. Bungie�s plans for the future are still closely related to the Xbox 360 platform and there is no intention to return to the PC or the Macintosh gaming.

However, Bungie will continue to work at what fans have requested- downloadable content for Halo 3- and will hire more people at their Kirkland, Washington offices for new projects.

Let�s just hope that with Microsoft off their back Bungie will get more creative and will start producing games at least as good as Halo 3�

Efluxmedia