Has Bungie Really Left Microsoft?
By Ed Oswald, BetaNews
October 3, 2007, 1:56 PM
Nobody's talking yet, but a new rash of reports are beginning to make it seem like the breakup of Bungie and Microsoft may be more than just a silly Internet rumor.
Such a relevation would come as a huge shock not only to Xbox 360 fans, but the industry at large as well. Together, the two companies have created one of the largest game franchises in history, and just came off the biggest entertainment launch ever with Halo 3.
His post said that while the company will likely continue to produce games for Xbox, it will now be free to also produce for other systems. An official announcement is to be forthcoming, however Metcalf said it likely will not appear until after October 6 so as not to impact Microsoft's release of quarterly results.
It's not clear what Metcalf meant by the breakup affecting quarterly results, especially considering the fact that Microsoft will be releasing those numbers October 25. A non-disclosure agreement on the deal between Bungie and the Redmond company does expire this week, however.
Metcalf followed up the post later that night reiterating his initial post and saying that he was receiving reports of locks being changed at Bungie headquarters, and that Bungie employees have refused to talk about the company's partnership.
Over the 48 hours, this story has continued to develop, with others chiming in with information they had received themselves. Game Informer claimed it was able to collaborate Metcalf's story, adding that it had learned Microsoft had gained the right to first refusal of future Bungie games.
So far, all that Microsoft has said is the following: "There's been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3." Bungie has refused to comment publicly, referring inquiries to Microsoft's public relations department.
Sources with knowledge of the situation are telling BetaNews that whatever has happened, it is unknown at least for the moment to the Xbox team. "If there is an issue, it is way above anybody's pay grade that I know," one source mused.
Furthermore, sources say that Bungie executives were still in the global address book, which Metcalf's source had claimed they had been removed.
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