Monday, 8 October 2007

Microsoft, Halo Developer Bungie To Part Ways

Microsoft and Halo developer Bungie Software are to part ways. Bungie said it wants to become an independent games developer.

Bungie developed the hugely popular Halo games for Microsoft’s gaming console xBox 360. In fact Microsoft said it was making Bungiw free to become a independent software maker.

Once Bungie becomes independent, this move will eventually 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 the games developer was a small team when it became part of Microsoft. The creative professionals who worked on the "Halo" franchise were "used to being able to look around the room and see Bungie people." They "feel lost" inside of the much-bigger organization of Microsoft Game Studios and, despite the success of "Halo," "that desire to be independent is something that a significant number of the people on the team still felt lacking," Ryan said.

Ryan also said that he had been working for months on a plan to separate the studio from Microsoft. “It’s an emotionally creative point of view. That’s the state we wanted to be in, Ryan said.

Microsoft has originally acquired Halo 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.