Bungie Universe
This topic has moved here: Subject: How could Bungie do that?
  • Subject: How could Bungie do that?
Subject: How could Bungie do that?

Ok, it's more of a business related question but it's been bugging me for years. How exactly was Bungie able to split from Microsoft?

I mean, any money Bungie earnt would technicall be Microsoft's, so it's not like they had their own little stockpile of cash and said to MS one day, "Hey, here's what we're worth, spin on it", and left.

Was their a clause in the buyout contract or something that let Bungie loose if they made enough money for MS or something?

I just dont get how a wholely owned subsidiary can buy it's own freedom...

  • 01.09.2011 4:12 AM PDT

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Bungie and Microsoft had a 10 year contract, that contract ended which is why they split. And do you really expect that M$ keep all the money that Bungie makes?

  • 01.09.2011 4:30 AM PDT

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Well, to answer your question quite simply, a whole lot of agreements and contracts, and Bungie wanted to stop making Halo and make their own game.

Bungie never "bought" themselves out of Microsoft. I'm assuming Bungie approached Microsoft and they made contracts saying that if you do this and that, then you can split your way out of Microsoft. And the "this and that" part was that Bungie had to make two more Halo titles, which was Halo 3:ODST and Reach, before they officially become a truley independent company.

Also you make it sound like Bungie makes all the money and then gives it to Microsoft. It's quite the opposite, Microsoft makes all the money and then they pay Bungie over a set agreement for what they think the game cost to make. It's in the range of $30-40 million dollars.

  • 01.09.2011 4:36 AM PDT

That makes a bit of sense, I figured there must have been a clause in the contract somewhere. I doubt it'd be a limited number of games things though.

From what I could tell the whole time, Microsoft actually bought Bungie out, lock stock and barrel, not entered into a publishing deal like they have now with Activision. This means that microsoft DID earn all the money made from Bungie, and they paid into the bungie team the appropriate amounts (production costs, employee wages, etc...) Bungie wouldn't have really seen any money as an independant studio under Microsoft's flag, no different then any other division. Their Windows division doesn't earn money and pay it's keep into MS central, it's the other way around.

Unless I'm misunderstanding exactly how the buyout/merger first occured.

  • 01.09.2011 5:07 AM PDT