Bungie To Become Independent Company: Microsoft Still Has Halo

After a week fraught with speculation Microsoft has finally confirmed Halo developer Bungie Studios is to become an independent company, although Microsoft will retain and “equity interest”.

Microsoft will retain a stake in Bungie and hold onto the Halo intellectual property and are set to continue their long standing publishing agreement with Bungie for Halo and other future properties.

Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios has said,

“Our collaboration with Bungie has resulted in Halo becoming an enduring mainstream hit,”

“While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our Halo entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the Halo universe. We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through Halo-related titles and new IP created by Bungie.”

Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie has said that it is an exciting time for the relationship between Bungie and Microsoft, claiming that it will ‘enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,‘

“We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through Halo and beyond.”

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