Do you think it's possible Bungie joins Microsoft Game Studios again?

[SpokkX]

Bungies best work is behind them. They've lost a lot of their best talent and I don't see them as a worth while investment. MS invested in small to mid size studios who I believe will produce better work.

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I hate to say this but really Bungie has not produced anything groundbreaking since Halo 2

At that time there were in their own class but the Destiny concept, while a good idea, mostly failed to live up to the hype

Destiny was supposed to be the next "big thing"

Instead we got an ok but so, so flawed experience

• Scaled back gameplay from Halo (vehicles etc are way toned down). No space combat, nothing really new
• No real open world. Just static Halo style levels that you replay and replay ("you see that mountain - you can go there" - yeah right). Loading screens everywhere
• MMO-trappings all over the place to encourage grind, grind, grind
• Even WORSE story and lore than Halo
• Way worse PVP than Halo

I dont see why MS would be interested to get them back? I suppose for Destiny but it would cost more than it was worth probably..

 

[Rosebud]

what short sightedness do you speak of?

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Not allowing them to make a new IP?

Destiny could be Xbox console exclusive now.

 

[poropat]

Nope

 

[STech]

It would be easier (and awesome) to see them in Sony's WWS than with MS again.

 

[pants]

What would either of them actually gain at this point?

 

[DarthWalden]

Bungie is not really the kind of team that MS has been acquiring.

When you think about the teams that MS has been acquiring, it's either been teams that they have had a longstanding relationship with developing first party games or much smaller budget constraint teams with potential.

Bungie is neither of those.

 

[bionic77]

My take on this is you can't just buy companies unless you have a vision for what you want your software/games to be.

Sony from the beginning was about making games with strong narratives. Almost movie like if you will. Thats overly simplistic and they have not just made Uncharted but I feel like that is their DNA and for the most part they have delivered.

MS seems like they are about the services more than the games. Which is fine. But in my opinion if you are going to buy a gaming company you need to have vision for what kinds of games you are going to be producing and not just chasing trends or trying to fill content for your services. With the first Xbox I feel MS had a vision for the types of games they wanted to make. They have gotten away with that and they need to get back to that.

 

[DJwest]

No, and I don't want them too. The Story of Halo became way better after 343 took over.

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Opinions... Interesting

 

[Stef]

I'm pretty sure that Bungie is not a team of 1000 people.

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Yep, where does this number come from?

 

[Griffith]

I wouldn't say it won't ever happen, but I doubt it will as long as the management that still remembers Microsoft's management is around.

 

[Windu]

They seem to be doing just fine on their own. So no.

 

[EvilBoris]

Once you get a taste of that Chinese money and the creative autonomy that comes with it there's no going back.

Chinese investors almost never say no. They're complete pushovers.

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that sounds like a rather broad view of the nation of China. Can you put me in touch with some of these pushovers?

Not allowing them to make a new IP?

Destiny could be Xbox console exclusive now.

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Ah yes , I see. I could imagine at the time there simply wasn't enough money being invested into studios to fund Bungie to make a new IP AND set up a new studio to handle halo/make a new halo.

Remember Destiny's alleged cost was half a billion dollars . It wouldn't have been the same thing had it have been on Xbox.
And in all honesty, I don't think Destiny is different enough to Halo to have been greenlit or even warranted in that timeline. Even playing destiny now it often feels like a reskinned Halo to me(and I mean that in the most respectful way)

And should Destiny have been Xbox exclusive in this alternate universe, it still would have had to live though matrick era Xbox , along with all the pain and suffering exclusive games had to to face on Xbox during that period (look how Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive , Tomb Raider and Quantum Break affected their teams and IP's thanks to the how it was all handled and how the gaming scene responds to Microsoft exclusives.

The chances are it would have been a shadow of the success it is, if it was a success at all.

The Situation as it stands is likely the best timeline.

 

[Pancracio17]

Nope. Bungie might need a publishers money since they make big AAA games and doing that independently is hard, but I think theyre satisfied with their situation. They just left Activision too.

 

[Deleted member 43]

Too expensive.

 

[DeoGame]

In the near future, no. They're publishing and have investment deals in place.

Many years down the line... maybe. Depends how this new venture works out for them.

 

[big_z]

Microsoft has the money to make the purchase and I wouldn't be surprised if bungie made an offer to Microsoft if they wanted a new parent again. However im not sure whats in it for microsoft. I guess it would depend how tempting the new IP is and if they can show promise in destiny again.

 

[The_R3medy]

I'd rather they join Microsoft again than become swallowed up by Tencent or NetEase to stay 'independent'.

But, not for a while.

 

[Ascenion]

It would be easier (and awesome) to see them in Sony's WWS than with MS again.

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Bungie real talk, is too messy to be part of WWS. Not to mention they've got that existing trust with Microsoft if they went anywhere. But Destiny makes them to expensive to purchase now. The best option would've been to let them make what they wanted.

 

[NekoNeko]

oh god no.

 

[Stef]

become swallowed up by Tencent or NetEase to stay 'independent'.

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Actually, that's an interesting concept. ;)

 

[NekoNeko]

Remember Destiny's alleged cost was half a billion dollars . It wouldn't have been the same thing had it have been on Xbox.

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D1 certainly didn't cost 500 million. that was their budget for the franchise, meaning multiple games, continous support and marketing. doubt the game would've been much different if MS was publishing it.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

According to Parsons, Bungie's plan is to turn into one of "best entertainment companies" in the world by 2025. To get there, Bungie will be relying on Destiny, but also plans to debut a big new franchise by that point.

"So, by 2025 we have a pretty specific path to make sure we transform Destiny and that we have other franchises within the marketplace," said Parsons.

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Source - https://www.vg247.com/2019/10/01/bungie-a-new-big-franchise-by-2025-that-isnt-destiny/

They got plans on their own. I don't think they will or even want to go back to Microsoft, but you never know. Money talks.

 

[thuway]

Nope.

 

[LemonLime]

They wanted to leave Microsoft for a reason... they're not going back.

 

[KDC720]

I could see them collaberating with MS for an exclusive or something, but I imagine they wish to remain independent.

I don't think the relationship between the two ever really soured, Bungie simply wanted to move on from Halo.

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Umm Netease just invested a 100 Mil in them.

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Yeah they're going to be indie for the forseeable future.

 

[WestEgg]

when this happens..

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The whole joke of that album is that the Eagles did reunite though.

 

[AegonSnake]

They will burn through that $100 million in a couple of years. It's a 1000 person team. Naughty Dog was 150 people in the PS3 era and basically a $10 million a year studio. every uncharted game they made cost $20 million. a 1000 man team is going to cost $50-75 million a year.

Do we know what their yearly revenue is from destiny expansions and microtransactions?

 

[bunikerrim]

Bungie knows that the future is being in as many platforms as you can, and with their last declarations on plans for 2025 they seem to want to become a higher force in the industry, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up being a publisher in the long run, in addition to the game development

 

[F4r0_Atak]

I think Bungie wants to be independet but if MS is really interested and offers enough money then I wouldn't be surprised if Bungie joins MS again. If the Destiny franchise continues to grow then Destiny could be the GaaS FPS MS wants. Money shouldn't be an issue.

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I don't think it's a matter of money, but more of creative control here. Given the size of their company, I doubt Bungie will ever let it go over money. Sure, the Xbox of today is way different than the Xbox of the Bungie-pre-split era, but Bungie are taking that risk now of making their own decisions, good or bad. These devs deserve all the respect and success they aim for. 😎

 

[Moist_Owlet]

No but they should hire someone who can write a story

 

[Dokkaebi G0SU]

Why can't the poll just be neutral with "No"

Highly doubtful they want to become a 1p studio again.

 

[bsigg]

No, but I see them partnering with MS on something.

 

[Bjones]

Of course it's possible it's just not very probable. MS doesn't need another shooter dev they need rpg and action adventure devs. But yeah maybe if halo 5 or destiny 2 fails then sure I could see ms spending the money.

 

[Faenix1]

Netease would probably just give them more if they ran out of money, until.. oops. They are now a Netease-owned studio.

 

[Mass Effect]

Nope. They got that Chinese money now anyway. They'll probably be set for a while if Netease remains a long term partner.

 

[headspawn]

I don't think so, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do something 1st party for either Sony or MS.

 

[Deleted member 4761]

Yes :)

 

[Nome]

that sounds like a rather broad view of the nation of China. Can you put me in touch with some of these pushovers?

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Broad but accurate. Chinese investors deeply respect the opinion and autonomy of foreign creatives because they recognize that domestic creativity is underdeveloped. This is slowly changing as China's domestic games industry grows, but for now they will default to trusting foreign devs and writing big, fat checks. How do you think Firefall happened?

Working with Chinese investors vs. Japanese or Korean investors is a world of difference. The Koreans in particular are like the real-life version of the fictional EA that Era is always worrying about.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I don't see it ever happening again unless Destiny really doesn't do well in its new incarnation and Bungie need to be bailed out. They left MS because they wanted freedom. They left Activision because they wanted freedom. They've now got a fully-formed product already on the market, investment from elsewhere and they seem to be in pretty good shape. I don't see a reality where they ever have to do anything exclusive again.

 

[TheUnsungHero26]

Bungie is a developer that left a large publisher, not once, but twice. They are very clearly a team that values their independence. They're also large enough that they would be too expensive for most publishers (also, I believe Microsoft still has a minority stake in them).

That being said, I do expect to see Bungie back on Microsoft's stage at E3 and other conferences.

 

[Jroc]

Depends how badly future Destiny stuff fails.

 

[Garrett 2U]

I don't think so. They just gained their independence again

 

[HMD]

I can see that happening if Destiny 3 bombs.

 

[The_R3medy]

Actually, that's an interesting concept. ;)

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Yeah, we keep talking about them being independent, but they have taken a huge investment from NetEase, which makes them fairly beholden to their interests and making that company money back on their investment.

 

[The Archon]

what short sightedness do you speak of?

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Bungie wanted to take a break from Halo and develop something else but MS wanted Halo and it ended up in the break up. If MS had given Bungie the chance to develop something else, then perhaps they would have been an Xbox studios developer on this generation.

 

[hydruxo]

Of course not. Pretty clear they don't want to be tied down anymore.

 

[Traxus]

masters of their own destiny

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nice

 

[Liquidsnake]

I want to say something so funny and witty about Sony's exclusivity deal, but I just can't quite come up with anything.

 

[melodiousmowl]

Bungie wanted to take a break from Halo and develop something else but MS wanted Halo and it ended up in the break up. If MS had given Bungie the chance to develop something else, then perhaps they would have been an Xbox studios developer on this generation.

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who was the management when this happened, I wonder...