Bungie And Activision Split, Cite Irreconcilable Differences
Video game publisher Activision and five-star developer Bungie have decided to see other people. In the biggest breakup since the Bezoses, Bungie will once again become an independent studio. This is divorce #2 for the company, who once produced Halo for Microsoft. As for who the kids are going to, Destiny will remain in Bungie’s custody.
“We have enjoyed a successful eight-year run and would like to thank Activision for their partnership on Destiny,” said Bungie in a new blog post. “Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce plans for Activision to transfer publishing rights for Destiny to Bungie. With our remarkable Destiny community, we are ready to publish on our own, while Activision will increase their focus on owned IP projects.”
Generally these days, it’s much more common to read about mergers and acquisitions. Big companies growing bigger. Scrappy young start-ups being swallowed into massive corporate machines. Last year alone, Microsoft purchased four video game developers and turned them into second parties exclusively serving the XBox.
So at first, it might sound unusual to read about a popular studio and a major publisher actually SPLITTING from one another. But if you’ve been following Bungie’s creative output over the last few years, you know exactly why.
Bungie’s Destiny went on sale to massive hype; everybody believed it would be the next huge MMO. Then, gradually, its userbase declined and more and more gamers dropped out. Destiny 2 didn’t sell nearly as well, and the would-be franchise seemed to be a flop. We guarantee this is what the split is about.
The one billion dollar question is this: Did Destiny suck because of decisions Activision forced upon it, or was the suckitude Bungie’s own fault? No one can say for certain at this present time. But if there is ever a Destiny 3, we’ll find out the answer!