Bungie teams up with Activision, Internet explodes


Posted by Bacchus on 29 Apr 2010 / 0 Comment


bungielogo2
Early this morning, the folks over at Bungie Studios posted a quick article about a little partnership they’d signed with a little-known publisher in the gaming industry.
Wait, did I say little-known publisher? Oh, my apologies. I meant super-mega publisher, also known as Activision. The new 10-year agreement gives Activision exclusive publishing rights to what is described as “Bungie’s next big action game universe.”
As we all know, Halo: Reach will be Bungie’s last entry into the lucritive Spartan-centric franchise, as 343 Industries and Microsoft will take over sole ownership of the intellectual property. Essentially, this means we may be getting what we’ve wanted: a successful developer working on a new IP. What could be better, right?
Of course, this utopia may not be as fruitful as we might want, as Activision has the somewhat ugly track record of driving successful franchises into the ground with oversaturation. Looking back over the last ten years, Bungie released four triple-A titles in the past decade. If this new IP proves successful, how hard will Activision start pushing for more releases?
This may all be a moot point, however, as the announcement clearly states that Bungie will remain a completely independent entity. Hopefully, this means we won’t be talking about a repeat of the Activision-Infinity Ward incident in a few years.
The official press release — which can be found after the jump — also makes it clear that this new IP will likely utilize multiple consoles and devices. What would a Bungie game look like on the iPad, anyway?
Hit the jump to read the PR spiel, and let us know how you feel about this deal in the comments below.

activisionlogo1

BUNGIE AND ACTIVISION ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE, WORLDWIDE PARTNERSHIP

10-Year Alliance Expands Global Reach for Leading Game Developer Across Multiple Platforms

Kirkland, WA and Santa Monica, CA – April 29, 2010 — 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.”

Written by Bacchus