Why it makes sense for Bungie to break away from Microsoft

There has been a whole lot of discussion about the possibility of Bungie leaving Microsoft. Some of the feedback from the community has been "they can't leave Microsoft owns them" or "why would Microsoft let them leave".

This is only my opinion and not based on any knowledge specific situation.

The idea of Bungie breaking away is plausible because Microsoft owns Halo, not Bungie. The company was acquired in 2000 by Microsoft to ensure the development of quality games to launch a little system called the Xbox.

If, and this is a big if, the developers at Bungie could buy their way out of their agreement with Microsoft then they would be free to develop games for other consoles.

I am sure they would come back to do Halo 4 , but I would bet that Sony would love to have them develop an A-list exclusive for them as well. Looking at the success of companies like UbiSoft and Epic has to have the folks at Bungie wondering what are they leaving on the table as far as dollars go being tied to Microsoft. This could also be a win in the short term for Microsoft because they may retain the distribution and publishing rights to select future titles for a timed period after the split.

Bungie Actually Leaving Microsoft?

Rumors are floating abound that Halo masterminds Bungie will be leaving Microsoft. The source being a reader blog from Seattlepi.com stating that in fact, as of yesterday, Bungie is no longer part of Microsoft. While the majority of Internet denizens are stating that this could never happen and that it’s not true, we’ve heard the opposite...

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Halo: Past, Present and Future: Gamespot Featurette

Seven minute video history of the Halo franchise.

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Halo 3 IMAX Preview Event

For the first time ever, Halo 3 will be unveiled to the public, in dramatic big-screen fashion at the Seattle Pacific Science Center, on an IMAX screen.

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Halo 3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play

Sitting in an office chair and frowning slightly, Randy Pagulayan peers through a one-way mirror. The scene on the other side looks like the game room in a typical suburban house: There's a large flat-panel TV hooked up to an Xbox 360, and a 34-year-old woman is sprawled in a comfy chair, blasting away at huge Sasquatchian aliens.

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Live Action Halo - from Bungie.net

Whoa!

Marathon on XBox Live!

I stayed up way past my bedtime to peek at Microsoft's E3 press conference. Just wanted to post this tidbit before bed.

In between all the marketing speak I learned that game I loved on the Mac will be coming to Xbox Live.

Marathon was a first person shooter on the Macintosh. While game developers shunned the Mac in the 1990s, a startup called Bungie Software created several games for the computer.

In many ways Marathon was a precursor to Halo, the killer app for Microsoft's console. In fact, quite a few features to be released in Halo 3 have their origins in Marathon. Saving game recordings, for example, was great in Marathon but in Halo 3 it looks phenomenal.

I had better start saving up Microsoft Points!