Bungie
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Bungie Incorporated, formerly Bungie LLC and Bungie Software Products Corporation prior to its emancipation from Microsoft, is a video game developer founded in 1991.
HistoryEdit
FoundingEdit
- "The culture of Bungie was pretty simple. It was just a bunch of college kids who wanted drink beer and eat pizza and do amazing cool stuff in their basements."
- — Chris Butcher
For much of the 1990s they developed a series of increasingly technically detailed First-person shooter (FPS) games for the Macintosh, the most famous being the Marathon series, following this with the acclaimed Myth tactical-combat series for both the Mac and Windows. Bungie games were particularly well-loved by players due to their complex back stories which often left more mysteries unexplained than revealed.
In 1997, Bungie Studios established Bungie West, a studio in California. However, the studio didn't last long and was shut down in 2000. Bungie West's only game was Oni.
Creation of Halo seriesEdit
- "Even through the Microsoft acquisition, Bungie's purpose is not to make money for Microsoft and support the platform. Instead, Bungie's purpose is to make great stuff like video games."
- — Chris Butcher[1]
In 1999 they announced that their next product was a return to the FPS genre, with a world-beating physics and AI system, to be known as Halo and to be released at the same time on both the Mac and Windows operating systems. On June 19, 2000, Microsoft announced that they had acquired Bungie Software and that Bungie would become a part of the Microsoft Game Division (subsequently renamed Microsoft Game Studios) under the name Bungie Studios. The original versions were soon delayed and the game was re-purposed for the Xbox, with the Mac and Windows versions only shipping two years later when it was no longer the renowned product it would have been in about late 2000. The Xbox version of Halo received the Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year awards for 2002 from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, is known as a system seller and as of 2004 is still a videogame bestseller. Halo: Combat Evolved has been one of the most critically acclaimed games over the last three years, and its sequel Halo 2 has been called the 'most anticipated game of all time' by IGN Xbox.
End of partnershipEdit
- "Independence was the only thing that was going to be able to allow us to do what we wanted to do. "
- — Pete Parsons
On October 5, 2007, Bungie and Microsoft announced an end to their partnership, effectively making Bungie an independent company once again, now titled Bungie LLC (limited liability corporation). The Halo Intellectual Property (IP) remains with Microsoft. Bungie employees have mentioned that there have been 'few noticeable changes' after the split.
Their offices were originally based in Chicago, Illinois. After Microsoft's acquisition, they moved into the Microsoft Campus at Redmond, Washington. They have more recently moved to Kirkland, Washington.
New partnershipEdit
- "We are moving on. We're building something new, something totally different."
- — Eric Osbourne
On April 29, 2010, Bungie entered an exclusive 10-year partnership with Activision which 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 will remain as an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property.[2] On June 30, 2011, Bungie announced "Bungie Aerospace", a platform to help small, independent mobile or social game developers launch their games.[3] Destiny is Bungie's first project since Halo: Reach.
Vicarious Visions partnershipEdit
- "Vicarious Visions is excited to announce that we are partnering with Bungie to further expand the Award-Winning Destiny Universe."
- — Facebook photo of Vicarious Visions' official Facebook account
On December 8th, 2016, Bungie entered into a partnership with Vicarious Visions to expand the Destiny universe.[4][5][6]
Leaving ActivisionEdit
In January 2019, it was announced that Bungie was parting ways with Activision. Bungie would retain the rights to the Destiny IP, though Destiny 2 would remain on the battle.net launcher for the time being.[7] On June 6th 2019 it was revealed that Destiny 2 would move to Steam for the release of Shadowkeep[8]
Acquisition by SonyEdit
On January 31, 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its intent to acquire Bungie for $3.6 billion. The acquisition closed on July 15th, 2022, officially making Bungie a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
One of the reasons Sony bought Bungie was that it could guide its studios in making live-service games. Bungie provided advice on The Last of Us Online.[9]
0n July 31st, 2024, Bungie laid off 17% of its workforce, citing rising development costs, industry shifts, and difficult economic conditions. 220 staff were laid off, with 155 of them integrated into Sony Interactive Entertainment.[10] As of September 2024, the majority of Bungie remains focused on Destiny 2, while a smaller team is working on Marathon.[11]
By October 2024, Sony's relationship with Bungie had shifted. While Sony had bought Bungie to provide advice on live-service games, by this point, Sony wanted Bungie to do so in official capacity. Bungie will continue to work on Destiny 2 and Marathon. By this point in time, Bungie had 850 developers working on both games.[9]
Bungie gamesEdit
- Gnop! (1990)
- Operation: Desert Storm (1991)
- Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete (1992)
- Pathways into Darkness (1993)
- Marathon (1994)
- Marathon 2: Durandal (1995)
- Abuse (Macintosh port) (1996)
- Marathon Infinity (1996)
- Weekend Warrior (Publisher, 1997)
- Myth: The Fallen Lords (1997)
- Myth II: Soulblighter (1998)
- Oni (2001)
- Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
- Halo 2 (2004)
- Halo 3 (2007)
- Pimps at Sea (April Fools Joke)
- Halo 3: ODST (2009)
- Halo: Reach (2010)
- Destiny (2014)
- Destiny 2 (2017)
Upcoming gamesEdit
- Marathon (2025)
PlatformsEdit
- Bungie Aerospace (2011)
- Crimson: Steam Pirates (2011)
Known employeesEdit
TriviaEdit
- Bungie's favorite number is 7.
- Gnop! is !Pong in reverse.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Edge Online: Inside Bungie
- ^ Bungie.net: NON FACETE NOBIS CALCITRARE VESTRUM PERINÆUM
- ^ Bungie.net: Bungie Aerospace
- ^ Facebook: Vicarious Visions is excited to announce that we are partnering with Bungie to further expand the Award-Winning Destiny Universe
- ^ Twitter: Join us in welcoming Vicarious Visions to the party
- ^ reddit: Vicarious Visions Partnering with Bungie to Expand Destiny Universe
- ^ [https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-parts-ways-with-activision-blizzard-and-its/1100-6464330/ GameSpot - Bungie Parts Ways With Activision Blizzard, And It's Taking Destiny
- ^ [ https://www.bungie.net/7/en/PCMove]
- ^ a b Forbes - Sony Carves Out A Bungie Team For A Live Service Overseer Role At PlayStation
- ^ GameRant - Destiny Developer Bungie is Laying Off Over 200 People
- ^ Forbes - New ‘Marathon’ Details On Heroes, Price And Radio Silence