
Bungie's broken up with Activision, if you haven't already heard. Coming to the conclusion that it was in the best interest of both parties not to continue their agreed contract over Destiny -- which saw Activision publish the property -- it's Bungie who now owns the sci-fi shooter. In other words, when it comes to Destiny, Activision is out of the picture.
It's obviously too early to tell exactly what kind of impact this will have on Destiny, and indeed, on Bungie itself. The studio is surely now one of the biggest independent developers out there, but going by numerous reports and whispers over the last few years, this is a position that Bungie is happy to find itself in.
Reportedly, the relationship between Bungie and Activision has been strained for some time, and this is backed up by Kotaku's story on the situation. The site writes: "Bungie 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."
And then it gets even more suggestive: "Employees cheered and popped champagne, according to one person who was there."
If that really is the case, then clearly Bungie's doing exactly what it's wanted to do for a while, and shed Activision's support along with its expectations and the expectations of its shareholders.
Here's hoping that this ends up being a positive move for the developer in the long run.
[source kotaku.co.uk]
Comments 18
@Frigate My thoughts exactly! Let's hope they have the resources to complete Destiny 3.
@Frigate i agree but this reaction from bungie does shine more light at how bad things are working for activision when you dont meet the unrealistic targets. I think when it was announced Destiny 2 didnt meet those targets was the final straw. I hope some significant changes can come to Destiny and maybe win over people who were put off by all the negativity (myself included) that was generated.
Isn't that what also happened when bungie leave microsoft? They really like changing partner it seems lol.
I hope destiny 3 can knock it out of the park with both the single player story and multiplayer
@wiiware maybe they are just looking for an excuse to PARTAY!

And then an Activision rep walked in and said "We've not actually parted company yet guys", before carefully pouring all the glasses back into the bottle
History repeating - only this time they get to keep the IP they created unlike Halo...
The grass may not be greener for Bungie - they could be losing help from other Studios - like High Moon and Vicarious Visions - both of whom have 'helped' on Destiny - the last 'PS' exclusive Strike was built by one of these...
Well they 'nearly' made it 10yrs....
I hope Bungie has what it takes to keep going. This is honestly fantastic news if they can make it work! Think of how great Destiny could be without Activision’s interference?
the vast amount of destiny (the game)'s problems are design problems which, imo, would have been there with or without activision. but there's obviously some constraints the studio just doesn't like to deal with or be shackled by. there's some reason it's decided it would rather be free from both microsoft and activision after all, and it'll be interesting to see who jumps on to publish the next destiny.
Would they go back to Microsoft?
Anyone played that indie game everyone's talking about? Destiny, is it?
They have champagne at work? Hmmm that could be one problem.
I wouldn't mind betting that at least 80% of those cheering employees will find themselves unemployed in the near future as Bungie will need to downsize, and quickly.
The burn rate of studio funds when you have 700+ employees is astronomical. They need to be a studio of 100 - 150 at most or face closure.
Enjoy that champagne now, ladies and gents. You'll need those memories to get you through unemployment, or 80 hour work weeks trying to stay on budget while finishing your next game in order to stay employed!
The real question here is what effect it will have on microtransactions and other “recurrent user spending” - and if those effects will help or hinder the game.
@FullbringIchigo Bungie: We don't need any reason to partay
It shows how toxic it got working with craptivision.
I do hope craptivision tanks now and bungie really kick on now
I must admit, that's absolutely hilarious, throwing a party right after you leave a publisher.
I give Bungie credit but now it opens up a can of other problems regarding financial stability.
Hopefully it works out well for Bungie and the employees working there. Hate seeing game companies go under and so many people lose their jobs.
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