Will Bungie jump from Microsoft?

Halo and goodbye?

By Ciara O'Brien, ElectricNews.net • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 4th October 2007 09:07 GMT

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Could one of the games industry's most effective partnerships be about to do a Disney/Pixar and split?

Rumours are blazing online that Microsoft and Bungie Studios are about to call it a day after the final game in the Halo trilogy has finally hit the shelves. The games developer was bought by Microsoft before the first Halo game was released, ensuring that the popular title stayed exclusive to the Xbox console.

With the final instalment in the trilogy speeding its way up the games charts, it seems all is not well inside the partnership - if the rumours are to be believed, that is.

The "story" was broken in a US-based blog 8BitJoystick.com, when the writer claimed that an inside source at Bungie had revealed the information in an email. The alleged split is reported to have come about because of creative differences - Microsoft allegedly wanted Bungie to devote itself solely to making Halo games, while Bungie had some issues over the tech giant's interference in its business.

If the rumours pan out, it seems Microsoft will retain all rights to the Halo franchise.

Although Microsoft is reported to have said no such split has been announced, it seems that it has stopped short of actually denying it will take place.

And according to 8BitJoystick, the official announcement will be made on 6 October.

Industry watchers will be keeping their eyes peeled.

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