Or Satan, however you want to look at it.
[quote]In news that could be considered shocking at the very least, Halo developer Bungie has announced that it just signed a ten-year contract with evil publisher Activision, marking the studio's first long-term engagement since it split with Microsoft in 2007.
Bear in mind this is not an acquisition, with Bungie still maintaining control of itself. However, Bungie will now be providing a decade's worth of content for Activision to publish.
Details are scarce at the moment, but this is obviously a bit of a megaton announcement. As Infinity Ward appears to disassemble before our eyes, Activision has seduced the makers of the only current FPS to challenge Call of Duty for dominance, and has added yet another high profile company to its stable of powerful thralls.
How long will it take for Activision to own a little slice of every part of this industry?
KIRKLAND, Wash. and SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 29, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Bungie, the developer of blockbuster game franchises including Halo, Myth and Marathon, and Activision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the #1 online games publisher (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that they have entered into an exclusive 10-year partnership to bring Bungie's next big action game universe to market. Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices. Bungie remains an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The groundbreaking alliance will provide Bungie its first such partnership since splitting off from Microsoft in 2007, significantly broadening its global reach by providing the resources and support to develop, distribute and release games worldwide on multiple platforms and devices.
Activision will broaden its portfolio with a new franchise from one of the industry's most creative, successful and proven studios, whose games have sold more than 25 million units worldwide. To date, Bungie's Halo games have generated approximately $1.5 billion in revenues, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK. Activision expects this agreement to be accretive to its operating margins as of the release of the first game.
"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."[/quote]
[url]http://www.destructoid.com/megaton-bungie-signs-ten-year-deal-with-activision-172387.phtml[/url]
It should be noted that this is a publishing deal only from what it looks like - as in, Activision doesn't "own" Bungie in the same way that they owned Infinity Ward. The thing is though, it'll be easy for them to buy bungie up after this I can imagine.
No big loss.
In other news, 12 new Halo games will come out in 2011.
Activision seeks only one thing: World domination. *insert evil laughter here*
I didn't even know that they split with MS. I haven't been paying attention
So can we safely expect an eventual Halo game on PS3?
[Quote]
"We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, [B]multi-platform experience [/B]and marketing expertise" [/Quote]
Big mistake.
:suicide:
God dammit. There goes halo
Did they think this would gain them popularity because they now own a contract with a popular game development studio?
No
Fucking Activision.
So after Infinity Ward filed a lawsuit against Activision for unpaid royalties, Bungie things it's a good idea to let them publish 10 of their games?
[QUOTE=Reflectent;21628697]Big mistake.[/QUOTE]
Not really. they make Hollywood-style big budget games designed to bring in lots of money. Activision specializes in publishing games like this.
It's not like they specialize in creating cult classics at this point or anything. It's all about milking the cash-cow
Even though it's just a publishing deal it could still diminish the quality of Bungie games if Activision forces them to publish.
well bungie it was nice knowing you
Fuck i hope the quality of the games don't drop.
[editline]04:52PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Metanoia;21628685]I didn't even know that they split with MS. I haven't been paying attention
So can we safely expect an eventual Halo game on PS3?[/QUOTE]
No, since they signed a deal with Microsoft.
Why would Bungie sign a deal with Activision? Either there just plain stupid or they've never heard about Activision treating their games and developers like shit.
Halo's gonna be fucked by Activision
...then again, it's Halo...
[QUOTE=TheThing;21629056]Why would Bungie sign a deal with Activision? Either there just plain stupid or they've never heard about Activision treating their games and publishers like shit.[/QUOTE]
Because Bungie are there for money, granted their games are good but they're not exactly gonna say no to a major publisher when 8 or 9 digit payrolls are mentioned.
Don't think of business like a kid, money rules not the game.
I hate activision they keep screwing shit up
[QUOTE=B1N4RY!;21629076]Halo's gonna be fucked by Activision
...then again, it's Halo...[/QUOTE]
I'm fairly sure Halo is still Microsoft's cash cow. Hopefully this Activision deal means they'll be starting something new rather than more Halo games.
Surely Bungie should be alright with activision only covering the publishing of this new game, anything more and they might have a little problem.
Bungie should hopefully be able to pluck up the courage to say "Go fuck off" to activision if they start acting up.
This might mean that the next good looking game from Bungie is going to cost £50, due to activision...
[QUOTE=MachiniOs;21628769]Fuck i hope the quality of the games don't drop.[/QUOTE]
Don't worry, it can't drop any lower.
jk :bandwagon:
Did they learn nothing from what happened to IW?
Wow. It was nice knowing Bungie as an independent studio that just partnered with Microsoft. Now they'll just be a game pumping whore again.
Halo on the pc?
I don't like this.
They're just publishing Bungies games like how EA publishes Valves physical copies of games.
[QUOTE=Metanoia;21628685]I didn't even know that they split with MS. I haven't been paying attention
So can we safely expect an eventual Halo game on PS3?[/QUOTE]
I don't think they can since Halo belongs to MS.
I always liked halo somewhat :(
As long as Bungie has control of itself, then whatever.
Halo: Soccer
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.