Bungie microsoft split up rumors...straight from the horses mouth

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/digitaljoystick/archives/122857.asp

Bungie and Microsoft Are Splitting Up and That's My Story

This morning I posted my big scoop to both my Seattle PI blog and 8bitjoystick.com

My source for this is inside the Redmond beltway and I have no reason to doubt them. I really can't go into it since they are a confidential source from companies involved. But I have the absolutely highest confidence in my source and I know my rights and responsibilities as a journalist. I assure you that my source came from inside Bungie but I can never say who or the details. I understand that there are completely valid reasons to be skeptical about this but I am sticking by my source and gut on this one. If you don't believe me.. fine I don't have a problem with that and I applaud your healthy skepticism. I would be skeptical too but I know my source and apparently from all the traffic I've been getting from Microsoft.com and Bungie.net I might have hit a nerve. and this might pan out as true.

The official PR line is :
"There's been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."

They are not flat out saying that it's not true

If Bungie left Microsoft I don't think it would affect the quality of their games one bit and I don't think that it would make the Xbox 360 any less awesome. Bungie has been stating over and over again that Halo 3 was the end of a trilogy of games.

If you think I'm crazy then fine but I am sticking to my source and my guns. The person that told me this bleeds blue Microsoft colored blood.

Microsoft's PR firm is not actively denying it. We shall see over the next couple days but there are comments on My Seattle PI blog saying that there are locks being changed at Bungie's offices in Kirkland and Bungie employees are keeping their mouth shut with "No Comments". I don't have any legal details but I do know that things are going down soon.

Some commentators have made some very good points in the comments about this on Digital Joystick

"Maybe they have a retention contract for key personnel that is ending soon... then the team has huge incentive to just leave and do their own thing, and MS has huge incentive to strike a deal with the new entity."

And then someone else points out..

"The scenario is not hard to believe.
You buy a company and you sign retention agreements for key employees, i.e. the team.
These employees have HUGE financial incentive to stay so they do.
3 or 5 or 7 years later depending upon the contract, the time is up. MS formally acquired bungie about 7 years ago at this time... they announced intention on june 19th, add 3 months for presumed legal stuff, and you get september 19th, which is close today, give or take.
So... retention contracts go POOF, and suddenly a bunch of key people can leave with no penalty.
The value of a software company is A) its people and B) its IP... but you cant own people!
So the people say to microsoft, we are going to leave, and while we wont solicit the rest of the team, we are their leaders and maybe theyll call us for jobs. MS knows from past experience that that will happen.. and bungie employees would like to keep their tech, so they cut a deal -- bungie goes its own way and gets a license to use all the tech it wrote while part of MS, and signs an xbox exclusive deal for a while. That's good business for MS, because the alternative is to lose the team and have them go 4-platform, which they certainly can do profitably with the games they can make.
Even if MS was the best corporate owner ever, the Halo team members have an enormous incentive to quit and start their own company with the amount of money they could make the company worth.
The email is consistent with this -- the IP is held by MS, but the team leaves. This is a common issue with software company acquisitions."

Someone posting as Bungie's Luke Smith chimed in..

"Good day... Luke Smith here, just caught the tail-end of the vicarious train, pertaining to this whole big misunderstanding. John Davison, Garrnett and I all got together before heading home after wrapping up the "AFTermath" podcast, (with a special "Rolfey" guest). We were rushed to the Kotaku, thanks to a call from Shoe... To make a long story short, we became angry, and currently have an over-the-phone schedule dated for tuesday morning with Bungie executives. Naturally, Microsoft is keeping mum on the subject, a-la Marcel Marseau."

Then around 6:00 PM people started posting reports about the locks being changed at Bungie's offices in Kirkland

"Our office is in Kirkland, and I walked by their building on the way to lunch and there were people changing out the electronic keypad on the front door.
This looks true."

"Went to lunch with a Bungie friend today - I got a very pointed "No comment". He absolutely refused to say anything else.
It may not be exactly what is reported here, but something big has happened."

"HAH - go by the building - they are changing the front door security locks *RIGHT NOW* (as of 6pm)!! You can watch them do it..."

Here Is a round up of other blogs picking the story up

Bungie Breaks Up With Microsoft?
Bungie, Microsoft Tight-Lipped On Separation Rumors
I sent a tip to Kotaku since they once posted a picture of my cat.

Bungie and MS: What the Hell is Going On?
Random blogger causes massive net meltdown. Microsoft avoids answers.
Awesome, they called me a random blogger!

RUMOR: Bungie rompe relaciones con Microsoft
I think this sounds awesome in Spanish

I submitted it to Digg.com but others resubmitted it and it ran up Digg faster than my original post

Bungie.net forums were not happy.

NeoGAF posters are all over this but there are some that are not sourcing my story but rather the NeoGAF post.. jerks.

The Sidney Morning Herald wrote an article about it.
Halo developer to leave Microsoft: report.

Now as a person that lived through my parents getting a divorce I just want to reassure all the Xbox and Halo fans that just because two people break up it does not mean that they have stopped loving you.

The source of the rumor is straight from the FanBoys mouth on a game forum !

Many of us seen this and skipped it as has " 0 " cred.

Furthermore, nothing about this makes any sense at all - what MS needs $$$ - Cmon !! :P

why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?slystallion26

Because Bungie can't go anywhere. They are owned by MS.

why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?slystallion26

And how would you know that? A large reason for Halo's success was because of Microsoft, without the money bags they provide for marketing, developing, everything.

why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?slystallion26

Because they are 100% owned by Microsoft. Koolaid cannot just say "Hey, Phillip Morris is an evil cigarette company, and we don't want to be a subsidiary of them anymore. We're leaving." They are owned by PM, the employees can quit, but they are not taking the brand or profits from any sales with them.

Bungie is a subsidiary of Microsoft. The employees can go wherever they want, but the Halo franchise and all the profits from it stay with Microsoft.

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?Catpee

Because they are 100% owned by Microsoft. Koolaid cannot just say "Hey, Phillip Morris is an evil cigarette company, and we don't want to be a subsidiary of them anymore. We're leaving." They are owned by PM, the employees can quit, but they are not taking the brand or profits from any sales with them.

Bungie is a subsidiary of Microsoft. The employees can go wherever they want, but the Halo franchise and all the profits from it stay with Microsoft.

ah random blogs about "friends"=credible source.

As people have pointed out, while individuals might leave MS owns Bungie

You=fail.

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?tgrace

Because Bungie can't go anywhere. They are owned by MS.

Who says that there isn't something in the contract that allows them to withdraw after a certain period of time? Besides, who knows what Microsoft might do with Bungie, after they killed off FASA Studios officially and put their developers into part of MS Game Studios, what if the people from Bungie want to avoid that and they want to become an independent 3rd party?

Unless it comes out that MS didn't actually BUY Bungie, and just signed some sort of exclusivity deal, this won't go anywhere. Is MS actually bought the company, which we all believe, then MS owns Halo and owns the Bungie name. The employees can all get up and quit and it wouldn't change the fact that Bungie is part of MS.

And I would also point out that it rarely ever works when eployees leave to develop for someone else or form their own company. Seriously, how often have we heard of big name devs from big name companies breaking out only to produce little to nothing of value? Especially compares to what they USED to produce. Development is a team effort and one person or two leaving a high quality team rarely works.

why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?slystallion26

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?Eltroz

[QUOTE="tgrace"]

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?DSgamer64

Because Bungie can't go anywhere. They are owned by MS.

Who says that there isn't something in the contract that allows them to withdraw after a certain period of time? Besides, who knows what Microsoft might do with Bungie, after they killed off FASA Studios officially and put their developers into part of MS Game Studios, what if the people from Bungie want to avoid that and they want to become an independent 3rd party?

And who says that pigs can't really fly but they just choose not to. Speculation is pointless, and so was this topic.

nobody is interested in the actual source of this rumor???slystallion26

The fact of the matter is this that Microsoft OWNS Bungie. So Bungie can't sit there and say oh we are leaving and taking Bungie with us. Its not happening. Bungie is part of Microsoft Game Studios. Its basically like Chevy saying we are going to leave GM! They can't because GM owns Chevy its not its own entity.

Unless it comes out that MS didn't actually BUY Bungie, and just signed some sort of exclusivity deal, this won't go anywhere. Is MS actually bought the company, which we all believe, then MS owns Halo and owns the Bungie name. The employees can all get up and quit and it wouldn't change the fact that Bungie is part of MS.

And I would also point out that it rarely ever works when eployees leave to develop for someone else or form their own company. Seriously, how often have we heard of big name devs from big name companies breaking out only to produce little to nothing of value? Especially compares to what they USED to produce. Development is a team effort and one person or two leaving a high quality team rarely works.

ZIMdoom

Because when employees leave, they leave with literally their own saved money and the shirts on their back....that's it. Game development companies are difficult and costly to start up, and good games come from established companies because their games are created off the profits of the last great title they created. Starting from scratch means that you are doing it with a limited staff, so expect delays...alot of them, expect bugs....alot of them, and one single hicup or design flaw and the company goes belly up. They hinge everything on that first title, and if it flops, developing the next title in the line is all but impossible.

So if the Bungie employees are thinking of leaving....I would say good luck, you will need it.

What is worse is that they lose the Bungie name and all the brand loyalty they built with the Halo series.

why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?slystallion26

Lets put it in simplier terms they are Microsoft. They are part of Microsoft, Microsoft has all rights to them bottom line.

[QUOTE="tgrace"]

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?DSgamer64

Because Bungie can't go anywhere. They are owned by MS.

Who says that there isn't something in the contract that allows them to withdraw after a certain period of time? Besides, who knows what Microsoft might do with Bungie, after they killed off FASA Studios officially and put their developers into part of MS Game Studios, what if the people from Bungie want to avoid that and they want to become an independent 3rd party?

There is no contract - Microsoft bought Bungie. That is what an acquisition is. They purchased all the equity in the company, including the 19.9 % interest that Take Two had at the time. They own Bungie 100% - they own Halo 100%. If the employees of Bungie wish to leave the company to start another development studio, they are probably welcome to do so, but the IPs and the studio itself belong to Microsoft.

[QUOTE="tgrace"]

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?DSgamer64

Because Bungie can't go anywhere. They are owned by MS.

Who says that there isn't something in the contract that allows them to withdraw after a certain period of time? Besides, who knows what Microsoft might do with Bungie, after they killed off FASA Studios officially and put their developers into part of MS Game Studios, what if the people from Bungie want to avoid that and they want to become an independent 3rd party?

There is no contract, its like you buying your own car. You own it. Once you own it your car is yours.

[QUOTE="Catpee"]

[QUOTE="slystallion26"]why wouldn't bungie look for greener pastures knowing full well they can be quite profitable on their own?taker42

Because they are 100% owned by Microsoft. Koolaid cannot just say "Hey, Phillip Morris is an evil cigarette company, and we don't want to be a subsidiary of them anymore. We're leaving." They are owned by PM, the employees can quit, but they are not taking the brand or profits from any sales with them.

Bungie is a subsidiary of Microsoft. The employees can go wherever they want, but the Halo franchise and all the profits from it stay with Microsoft.

This is what happens when teen and tweenagers have access to the internet...

Microsoft OWNS Bungie, and the rights to all its licences,

This is about as stupid as saying that Mario Kart is coming to PS3.

M$ may own the Bungie name but they don't own the people that made the company what it is. These people could leave with all there knowledge and experience to start another company (this could even include the entire team). This could leave the company with little to no real leaders of game developement.jimm895

Stop the madness plz - sheesh - the arrival of Halo 3 is making the SDF go nutts to a point I thought impossible ! :?

[QUOTE="taker42"]And me changing the locks on your house doesn't make it my house.
jaysin1414

[QUOTE="jaysin1414"][QUOTE="taker42"]And me changing the locks on your house doesn't make it my house.
taker42

It's clear now - good job ! :)

I would like to point out that one blog post from some random user on the internet does not equate fact. That goes without saying and I am belaboring the obvious here.

And I would also like to point out that the "horse's mouth" is, in fact, the mouth of Bungie and Microsoft themselves and they have denied any break-up. So no, there is no "straight from the horse's mouth" in this case.

Unless it comes out that MS didn't actually BUY Bungie, and just signed some sort of exclusivity deal, this won't go anywhere. Is MS actually bought the company, which we all believe, then MS owns Halo and owns the Bungie name. The employees can all get up and quit and it wouldn't change the fact that Bungie is part of MS.

And I would also point out that it rarely ever works when eployees leave to develop for someone else or form their own company. Seriously, how often have we heard of big name devs from big name companies breaking out only to produce little to nothing of value? Especially compares to what they USED to produce. Development is a team effort and one person or two leaving a high quality team rarely works.

ZIMdoom

Know what comes to mind ? Rare.

That doesn't make sense, so no.OGTiago

****!!$! Guys, it looks like it's true. seriously.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/14693/Rumor-Bungie-Is-Leaving-Microsoft/

By now, you must have heard the rumor of Bungie leaving Microsoft that started at 8Bit Joystick.com. Well, we can't provide further info now (we'd put our sources in trouble) but we're going to tell you that it is more complex than simply Bungie leaving Microsoft or Microsoft letting Bungie go.

There will be an official announcement this week, definitely before October 12th... TXB

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :| :cry:

I honestly don't know what to say. Could Bungie be done making Halo games? Is their top brass pulling a RARE and moving on to form their own companies to do the projects they really want to do? Something is about to shake gaming.

****!!$! Guys, it looks like it's true. seriously.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/14693/Rumor-Bungie-Is-Leaving-Microsoft/

[QUOTE="TXB"] By now, you must have heard the rumor of Bungie leaving Microsoft that started at 8Bit Joystick.com. Well, we can't provide further info now (we'd put our sources in trouble) but we're going to tell you that it is more complex than simply Bungie leaving Microsoft or Microsoft letting Bungie go.

There will be an official announcement this week, definitely before October 12th... Dreams-Visions

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :| :cry:

I honestly don't know what to say. Could Bungie be done making Halo games? Is their top brass pulling a RARE and moving on to form their own companies to do the projects they really want to do? Something is about to shake gaming.

Ummm why did they say before October 12th?.....please dont tell me sony's big announcement is that they acquired Bungie?

[QUOTE="Dreams-Visions"]

****!!$! Guys, it looks like it's true. seriously.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/14693/Rumor-Bungie-Is-Leaving-Microsoft/

[QUOTE="TXB"] By now, you must have heard the rumor of Bungie leaving Microsoft that started at 8Bit Joystick.com. Well, we can't provide further info now (we'd put our sources in trouble) but we're going to tell you that it is more complex than simply Bungie leaving Microsoft or Microsoft letting Bungie go.

There will be an official announcement this week, definitely before October 12th... killaj2786

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :| :cry:

I honestly don't know what to say. Could Bungie be done making Halo games? Is their top brass pulling a RARE and moving on to form their own companies to do the projects they really want to do? Something is about to shake gaming.

Ummm why did they say before October 12th?.....please dont tell me sony's big announcement is that they acquired Bungie?

I don't know man. I don't know what to think anymore. But when TeamXbox says something like this, there is a good damn reason for it. They certainly don't make anyone feel like everything is candy and rainbows. This is all disturbing. The timing is absolutely bizarre.

Are Bungie going to form the next 'Free Radical Design'

sorry guys

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25955364&sid=6180203&action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;1

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Bungie's entire operation is uprooting itself from the Microsoft campus of its own volition and taking the Bungie brand with them. Not bogus that, now that the Halo trilogy is done, many of the developer's staffers are likely pondering following in the footsteps of Bungie founder Alex Seropian, who left to create indie shop Wideload Games (Stubbs the Zombie) in 2004.

sorry guys

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25955364&sid=6180203&action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;1

naughtydog360

Like I said, their best minds may be pulling a RARE.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Bungie's entire operation is uprooting itself from the Microsoft campus of its own volition and taking the Bungie brand with them. Not bogus that, now that the Halo trilogy is done, many of the developer's staffers are likely pondering following in the footsteps of Bungie founder Alex Seropian, who left to create indie shop Wideload Games (Stubbs the Zombie) in 2004.

SecretPolice

depending on who and how many, it could really hurt the Halo franchise.

sorry guys

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25955364&sid=6180203&action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;1

naughtydog360

[QUOTE="SecretPolice"]

Bogus or not bogus?:Bogus that Bungie's entire operation is uprooting itself from the Microsoft campus of its own volition and taking the Bungie brand with them. Not bogus that, now that the Halo trilogy is done, many of the developer's staffers are likely pondering following in the footsteps of Bungie founder Alex Seropian, who left to create indie shop Wideload Games(Stubbs the Zombie) in 2004.

Dreams-Visions

depending on who and how many, it could really hurt the Halo franchise.

Next we are going to have rumors of gears of war developers leaving Epic and Square Enix devs.yeeesh. Bungie is probally happily jumping at the chance to do another Marathon right now.real45

[QUOTE="Dreams-Visions"][QUOTE="SecretPolice"]

Bogus or not bogus?:Bogus that Bungie's entire operation is uprooting itself from the Microsoft campus of its own volition and taking the Bungie brand with them. Not bogus that, now that the Halo trilogy is done, many of the developer's staffers are likely pondering following in the footsteps of Bungie founder Alex Seropian, who left to create indie shop Wideload Games(Stubbs the Zombie) in 2004.

SecretPolice

depending on who and how many, it could really hurt the Halo franchise.

Some actually do it. And the companies they leave are never the same (Rare). The story is clearly not over, as evidenced by TXB's ominus statement.