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Bungie not concerned about Destiny's always-on connection requirement

Mike Schramm — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:45:00 EST

In a new Mail Sack blog post, developer Bungie has responded to concerns about its always-on requirement for Destiny, the studio's upcoming multi-platform shooter. The developer says it's not worried about a SimCity-style server outage for Destiny when "the massive onslaught of players" arrive on launch day because it's dealt with high-demand in the past.

"This isn't our first rodeo," the post reads. "Bungie is no stranger to anxious mobs of players who rush home after a midnight launch and put our best-laid plans to the test." Bungie says it plans to "focus on some less frightening but equally important challenges" for now, worrying about release day problems at a later time.

Elsewhere in the Sack, there's also a question about whether or not the alien races will be playable in the game, and Bungie mysteriously teases that it's "barely scratched the surface on the character and customization options." When graphic designer John Stvan is asked to tell a tale about playing the game, he says he once "loaded a build, shot a gun, killed a dude." Sounds riveting!

Bungie not concerned about Destiny's always-on connection requirement originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie's 'Destiny' coming to the PlayStation 4 alongside PS3 version

Mike Suszek — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:57:00 EST

Activision Publishing's Eric Hirshberg took the stage during today's PlayStation 2013 event to announce that the Bungie-developed Destiny will make its way to the PlayStation 4.

Bungie president Harold Ryan said that Destiny "is being developed for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, with both versions available at Destiny's launch." Ryan also added that PlayStation gamers will enjoy exclusive content; however, he did not specify if the bonus included both current- and next-gen consoles.

An early version of Activision and Bungie's contract detailed an intricate release plan, which noted Microsoft platforms would see Destiny release as a timed-exclusive.

Bungie's 'Destiny' coming to the PlayStation 4 alongside PS3 version originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision: Don't expect 'Destiny' in 2013

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:45:00 EST

Despite being available for pre-order at major retailers, Bungie's recently revealed Destiny isn't going to launch in this calendar year. An Activision Blizzard press release sent out today noted: "Activision has not included [Destiny's] launch in its 2013 outlook and there should be no speculation or expectation of a different result."

Oh, and in case there's any confusion about calendar '13 versus fiscal year, Activision Blizzard is one of the few companies that has its fiscal year synched with the planet's trip around the sun.

The 2010 contract between Activision and Bungie regarding Destiny tentatively scheduled four retail games for the fall of 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. There are also four "comet releases" planned for the years between, which are speculated to be substantial add-ons to the prior year's offerings.

Continue reading Activision: Don't expect 'Destiny' in 2013

Activision: Don't expect 'Destiny' in 2013 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Recapping Bungie's 'Destiny' reveal

Xav de Matos — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST

After a day of Bungie-related content, we present you with an easy-to-use recap of today's Destiny reveal. As an added bonus, we've developed a lengthy video feature - as seen above - with associate editor David Hinkle and myself discussing the reveal and answering as many questions as we could. If you prefer to watch your previews, Joystiq has you covered.

[PREVIEW] Destiny in the stars: Exploring Bungie's 10-year plan
[FEATURE] Destiny: What we know now vs details in the Activison-Bungie contract
[NEWS] Bungie reveals 'Destiny': an always-on, persistent world adventure

Recapping Bungie's 'Destiny' reveal originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Destiny: What we know now vs details in the Activision-Bungie contract

Xav de Matos — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:00:00 EST

As part of the litigation between Activision and former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, the publishing giant was forced to reveal terms of its publishing agreement with Bungie to launch its new franchise, Destiny.

While it's possible the contract has since been altered from its original signing date of April 16, 2010 - considering elements such as the industry's further knowledge of the next generation of consoles - we wonder how closely it resembles what Bungie and Activision have finally revealed to the public.

Using information received during our recent meeting at Bungie's Washington headquarters, we compare what we now know about Destiny and what the 2010 contract promises.

Continue reading Destiny: What we know now vs details in the Activision-Bungie contract

Destiny: What we know now vs details in the Activision-Bungie contract originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Destiny in the stars: Exploring Bungie's 10-year plan

Xav de Matos — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:10:00 EST

Within the hollowed-out remains of a former bowling alley and movie theater, the creators of the Halo franchise huddle en masse at their headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, working on a new project. Inked to a decade-long agreement with publishing giant Activision - and dodging rumors and leaked documents for nearly two years - Bungie has finally revealed Destiny.

A first-person console shooter set within a persistent world, Destiny takes place in a future-vision of our own solar system: A great peace beamed across the system, after civilization spanned the galaxy.

"But it didn't last," a teaser trailer featuring concept art revealed.

Hit by an unknown force that nearly wipes out all of humanity, Earth's survivors take salvation under a mysterious orb that hovers over a part of the planet. This orb, referred to as "The Traveler," is roof to the final safe haven for humans. But as time passes and humanity begins to lift itself out of extinction, they learn they are not alone.

"Strange, deadly creatures have occupied our old worlds. And they're pressing hard against the city, probing for a weakness, trying to stamp us out for good." As a Guardian of Earth's last city, players will be able to wield some of The Traveler's power and set out to rid the galaxy of aggressors.

"If you can find a way to save the city, to reclaim all that we have lost, you will become legend. If you fail, the last light of civilization will go out."

Gallery: Destiny (Concept Art: 02/17/2013)

Continue reading Destiny in the stars: Exploring Bungie's 10-year plan

Destiny in the stars: Exploring Bungie's 10-year plan originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie reveals 'Destiny': An always-on, persistent-world adventure

Xav de Matos — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:00:00 EST

After nearly two years of rumors and leaks, the Halo franchise architects at Bungie have finally lifted the veil on their next project: Destiny.

Part of a 10-year publishing deal with Activision, Destiny is a persistent-world console shooter where players create and customize their identities and gear in order to venture across a future vision of our own solar system on quests to gather loot and defeat evil.

"If you fail, the last light of civilization will go out," a teaser trailer featuring concept art at the reveal event promised. The world of Destiny doesn't rely on a single hero for salvation, but a community of Guardians, all exploring the galaxy in an effort to save the system and craft their unique legends.

Bungie has made significant investments in the game's multiplayer component to emphasize cooperative play. Single-player purists will be able to quest as a Guardian throughout the galaxy; however, in order to "realize the vision of the game," Destiny will require a constant internet connection on all platforms regardless of play style.

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg says that maintaining the vision of Bungie's shooter is key to the always-on requirement, adding "that's the only reason for that restriction." As for player investment to enter the world of Destiny, Hirshberg says that there are "absolutely no plans to charge a subscription fee."

Continue reading Bungie reveals 'Destiny': An always-on, persistent-world adventure

Bungie reveals 'Destiny': An always-on, persistent-world adventure originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie's Destiny pre-order posters arrive at GameStop

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:15:00 EST

Pre-order bonuses for Bungie's upcoming mega first-person shooter, Destiny, are arriving at GameStop stores today. The double-sided posters will be available beginning Monday, according to our GameStop source. We've placed shots of the poster after the break.

Destiny, according to documentation provided with the posters, lets you create your own character and earn unique and customizable weapons, gear and vehicles in an always-connected universe. The game is described as an FPS with cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, combined with public and social activities.

Bungie is expected to reveal Destiny on Sunday.

[Thanks, OG]

Continue reading Bungie's Destiny pre-order posters arrive at GameStop

Bungie's Destiny pre-order posters arrive at GameStop originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Destiny ARG begins: 'Distributed, synchronous effort required'

Jordan Mallory — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:05:00 EST

A Bungie release wouldn't really be the same without an alternate reality game to get pattern-obsessed conspiracy nerds/internet detectives (read: us) all worked up and obsessive, and thus Destiny's own ARG has officially sprung into life. Destiny, in case you're just joining the party, is Bungie's new original IP of which we know very little, beyond the fact that some leaked concept art places the game on a ruined future-Earth orbited by a massive, spherical alien ship.

Perhaps more obvious in its implementation than some of Bungie's previous ARG efforts, the new jam requires the user to "begin by aligning the day's pattern to the light," which is to say, arrange a pattern of eight diamonds into the correct configuration, thus granting access to the site in full.

Once inside, the user is presented with some delightfully cryptic information: A small section of a larger geometric pattern/glyph on the left, an abstract matrix of dots on the right, and at the bottom of the page, a message. "Your node will remain active for 5 minutes, but may be reactivated as necessary. Distributed, synchronous effort required."

Depending on the number of active users viewing the site at any given time, the image on the left will either be more or less obscured/legible. Likewise, the dot matrix on the right will be populated with more or fewer dots, based on current traffic. Once a sufficient number of users are online, a screenshot the dot matrix can be analyzed for information in Photoshop or similar. Yesterday's matrix, for instance, revealed a file extension that, once placed onto the end of the site's URL, rewarded studious sleuths with a large image and passage.

Games such as this typically evolve as time goes on, so the complexity of the puzzles and the amount of technical skill required to solve them is likely to increase on a daily basis. There's also no indication of what happens after the seventh day, but we're eager to help find out. And, by "help," we mean "read forum threads and get excited when smart people solve things for us."

Destiny ARG begins: 'Distributed, synchronous effort required' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie discussing 'Destiny' at GDC 2013

Mike Schramm — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:15:00 EST

Bungie and Activision's new IP, Destiny, will be the subject of a session during this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Dubbed a "Brave New World: New Bungie IP," the talk will cover the studio's approach in putting together Destiny's original setting, "a place where the next ten years of great Bungie adventures will unfold."

The Destiny leaks last year suggested a "fun and accessible" multi-platform project, set in the future and featuring a large-scale war between man and alien (bearing a strong resemblance, in other words, to Halo). Having been teased with Destiny and its iconography for months now, we expect some insight into just how Bungie's new universe is shaping up.

The Game Developers Conference runs from March 25 until March 29. The time and date of Bungie's panel has yet to be announced.

Bungie discussing 'Destiny' at GDC 2013 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie's Destiny was teased way back in Halo 3: ODST

Jordan Mallory — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:15:00 EST

Bungie's Destiny has existed in one form or another since at least 2009, a new discovery in Halo 3: ODST indicates. The above image shows a poster found in ODST, which portrays a planet within close proximity to a large white sphere, with the message "DESTINY AWAITS" scrawled above. The similarities between this image and the recently leaked Destiny concept art is undeniable, especially the title screen-esque image obtained by IGN.

Former Bungie employee and Halo series level designer Vic Deleon has confirmed the connection, exclaiming that the secret had "FINALLY BEEN FOUND!" on Twitter. In light of these events, we've decided to dig even further into the annals of Halo lore by running the entirety of Halo: The Fall of Reach through an anagram construction algorithm and seeing what we come up with. Should that prove fruitless, we'll start decompiling the code for Pathways into Darkness.

Bungie's Destiny was teased way back in Halo 3: ODST originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie confirms leak of story info, concept art for Destiny

Mike Schramm — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:30:00 EST

An IGN reader has provided the site with a bundle of Destiny art and story materials that it says were compiled by an ad agency. Destiny is the long-rumored secret project that will serve as Bungie's followup to the Halo series. The art shows an Earth in a future "littered with the ruins of man's Golden Age," according to the materials, with a huge alien ship sitting above the planet. There are also shots of various soldiers and war vehicles, along with a more final logo similar to the one we've seen before.

And now Bungie has added to the collection with its own official piece of concept art above. On the official Bungie blog, the company vaguely confirms the leaks, saying, "Go ahead. Take a peek. It's alright. We weren't quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can't wait to finally show you what we've really been up to."

The leaked documents describe Destiny as "fun and accessible to all," and say the property's goal is "to create a universe as deep, tangible and relatable as that of the Star Wars franchise." That leaked contract between Bungie and publisher Activision about the project suggests that this title will involve four games, as many DLC releases, and stretch across the next console generation, so it's possible that this art reveals the very first step in what might be a long journey forward.

Bungie confirms leak of story info, concept art for Destiny originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Demonware with Bungie on 'Destiny,' report of hands-on playtime

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

"Destiny," the unofficial, unannounced project from Bungie, looks to be getting help from online software manager Demonware. Demonware, a subsidiary of Activision, lists Bungie as a partner and has offices in Vancouver with two open positions that correlate to an Activision job posting - but that's not all.

A senior Demonware employee recently participated in Bungie Day and wrote a blog post (since removed) about his hands-on time with Destiny itself, Superannuation found. The employee described a meeting in a theater to discuss "game story, factions, art, engineering, tool chain, graphics, audio, player investment mechanisms, player progression, UI, and web and mobile apps." And then he played Destiny.

"The game was up and down a lot, playing in a team of 3 we did manage to experience entering a zone to find other players already taking on the bad guys, it's cooperative so we helped out (mostly [name removed], I just died) before both groups went their separate ways," the employee wrote. "Which is a pretty cool experience, making you feel you are part of a much larger populated world.

"At the end of the day I was excited about the game, I like the feel of being in a large world with different destinations and the interactions along the way. It actually brought back a sense of exploration I recall from playing [Elite] many years ago, although there was no opportunity to shoot aliens in the face in Elite. I'm not fully sold on the appeal of being able to change the colour of a weapon, but I guess it works in China, and customization and individual identity is a big theme for the game."

The employee boiled down general comments from other attendees to, "It's still quite like Halo," and, "There is a lot of work to be done."

Rumor: Demonware with Bungie on 'Destiny,' report of hands-on playtime originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision/Bungie contract reveals four-game plan code-named 'Destiny', potential for new Marathon

JC Fletcher — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:05:00 EST

As a side effect of Activision's ongoing court battle with former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, details of the company's deal with Bungie have been made public in documents posted by the LA Times.

According to the documents, Bungie has agreed to create four "sci-fantasy, action shooter games" in a project code-named "Destiny" (for which Bungie filed trademarks last year). The first will be an Xbox exclusive (360 with the option for its successor) in fall 2013 (versions for other systems would follow one year later) with followup games on Xbox successor, PS3 successor, and PC in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Four DLC expansions, code-named "Comet," are included in the deal, due fall 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020.

In the contract, Activision reserves the right to take over the "Destiny" property if Bungie fails to meet its requirements; however, it stipulates that it will not begin more "Destiny" projects until Bungie has completed its work.

The contract also gives Bungie the freedom to put five percent of its staff to work on a prototype for a new game referred to as "Marathon," with the team size allowed to grow after certain operating income. There are also rules governing how much of the company's staff can work on Bungie.Net, Halo Reach DLC and other projects.

That takes care of the next eight years or so of video game news. Who wants tacos?

Activision/Bungie contract reveals four-game plan code-named 'Destiny', potential for new Marathon originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 May 2012 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Major League Gaming's Raleigh Championship Sunday, live on Joystiq!

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST

Smell that? That gentle, wafting scent in the breeze? That unique blend of concession-stand popcorn, USB and pwn? It's a specific, enticing fragrance that can only mean one thing: It's time for Major League Gaming finals, and you can watch it all live on Joystiq!

All day today, teams from around the globe will be competing for thousands of dollars in prizes across 4 games: Starcraft 2, Halo: Reach, Black Ops, and making its MLG debut, League of Legends. It's an exciting day for pro-gaming, so strap on your beer hat and big foam finger and head on through for the day's full schedule.

Continue reading Watch Major League Gaming's Raleigh Championship Sunday, live on Joystiq!

Watch Major League Gaming's Raleigh Championship Sunday, live on Joystiq! originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Destiny' and 'Be Brave' trademarks officially in Bungie's hands

Justin McElroy — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:35:00 EST

We're still in the dark about Bungie's next game, but if it's nearly as compelling as the team's current project, "Guess Our Next Game," we're all in for a treat. Today's update comes from Halo.Bungie.Org, which reports that "Be Brave" and "Destiny" (previously trademarked to a dummy corporation owned by Bungie staffers) are now the official property of the company.

But wait, we've got more than legal maneuverings here! Misriah Solutions has put together a wonderfully thorough scouring of the new Bungie vidoc "O Brave New World" filled with plenty of eagle-eyed observations and just a little bit of conjecture.

Also, guys? It's a Call of Duty game. Accept it, embrace it, move on.

[Thanks, Josh.]

'Destiny' and 'Be Brave' trademarks officially in Bungie's hands originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision head Bobby Kotick positive but unsure on Vita; sees Wii U as 'really necessary' for Nintendo

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST

When Bobby Kotick's not busy making appearances in major motion pictures alongside Brad Pitt, he heads up Call of Duty publisher Activision. And as head of one of the largest (if not the largest) third-party game publisher, what he says about the future of various consoles can have some major implications. It seems that, like Activision has done in the past with new platforms, Kotick's stance on both Nintendo's Wii U and Sony's PlayStation Vita is "very interested" with a heavy side of apprehension.

In an interview with The Guardian, Kotick spoke to his feelings on the PS Vita. "Technically, we're super excited about what we can do on it, it's really something incredible. The question is, where is the market?" While he's excited by the capability of the PS Vita, and his company has already pledged support, Kotick acknowledged the burgeoning smart phone market for games as well. "It's a really nice product and its very well differentiated from what you can get in even the most capable smartphone or tablet today," he professed.

As for Nintendo's Wii successor, the Wii U, Kotick said that Activision has had dev kits "for awhile now" and that, while Nintendo has yet to fully clarify its online system even to him, the console apparently makes "rich multiplayer games" a possibility -- a first for Nintendo, if true. As far as timing goes, Kotick stated that Nintendo's hardware reveal was a necessity. "For the kinds of games we create, it was becoming very difficult for us to support the Wii with the expectations that our gamers have ... from a development perspective, having a Nintendo device that is on parity with the other hardware from a graphics perspective was really necessary." As you might expect, Activision is apparently "very enthusiastic about it," though he wouldn't detail any specific titles in development at the publisher.

When pressed on new intellectual properties, Kotick deferred to Bungie's unannounced project, as well as "the new MMO from Blizzard" (the rarely spoken of "Titan" project). And as expected, he spoke ambiguously regarding this year's Guitar Hero franchise gutting. "Until we can deliver a really high level of innovation and tap into the high level of creativity and inspiration of the people we have making games, we won't put the products out," he admitted. "That goes for everything -- we've always subscribed to that philosophy." We're not sure that the last few Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk titles would back up Mr. Kotick's claim, but then we're not the corporate figurehead of an enormous public company.

Activision head Bobby Kotick positive but unsure on Vita; sees Wii U as 'really necessary' for Nintendo originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New logo, trademark lend credence to Bungie 'Destiny' project

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:30:00 EST

Doing the detective work of any good fansite, HBO.org has turned up more evidence of the rumored "Destiny" MMOFPS in development at Bungie Studios / Bungie Aerospace / whatever Bungie wants to call itself. The site discovered that a company named "Podophobia Entertainment," formed by Bungie head Harold Ryan and music composer Marty O'Donnell, had registered a trademark for "Destiny" with the image seen above. The filing is classified under "Computer game software; Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Video game software; Virtual reality game software."

"Destiny" is just the latest in a series of filings by the Halo dev studio, most recently incorporating "Bungie Aerospace" and trademarking "Crimson" for use with "Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones; Downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices." As you might expect, Bungie has remained quiet on the filings and has yet to respond to our requests for comment.

New logo, trademark lend credence to Bungie 'Destiny' project originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 May 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie denies claim of Activision-mandated layoffs, keeps mum on 'Destiny' MMOFPS talk

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:58:00 EST

Bungie has issued a terse denial of reported contractor layoffs spurred by Activision, the studio's long-term publishing partner. One of the alleged contractors, who claimed to be "let go for no reason," detailed the supposed account to Kotaku Australia. "We were given no warning," the source said. "Bungie told our agencies that it was 'performance related,' but one of our fellow fired-employees was an IT contractor and showed us an email he received before his account was killed, citing 'project sensitivity' and 'budgetary concerns from our publisher.'"

Bungie refuted the claim, saying in a statement that the studio "has never been asked to lay off any employees or contract employees by our publisher, Activision-Blizzard, for any reason." Last May, Activision did confirm that it was funding the development costs of Bungie's multiplatform mystery project, which the publisher said would employ nearly 200 staff. Perhaps sensitive to the assumption that Activision maintains close operational oversight of spending for the project, Bungie found it necessary to so explicitly discredit the reported layoffs.

The post on Bungie.net was later updated, "To clarify, Bungie has not experienced layoffs or group firings of any kind." A link to the studio's current job openings was also included with the statement to emphasize that Bungie is actually still hiring.

Of course, the developer made no mention of the alleged contractor's other supposed revelation: that the project in question combines FPS and MMO elements (an FPSMMO, if you will) in a sci-fi setting, according to Kotaku's source, and will be named "Destiny" -- but codenamed "Tiger," for now. Neither title matches up with any of the recently discovered Bungie trademarks, but the MMO component does echo the hypothetical musings of Bungie creative director Joe Staten.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you?" Staten wondered aloud during a GDC Online panel discussion last fall. "Wow. That would be great."

[Image source: Bungie.net]

Bungie denies claim of Activision-mandated layoffs, keeps mum on 'Destiny' MMOFPS talk originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie web domains, copyright filings discovered for 'Seven Seraphs,' 'Osiris,' 'New Monarchy,' and 'Dead Orbit'

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST

This past summer, while we were busy jamming to Beach Boys classics and getting our tan on, Bungie was secretly filing copyright claims for a handful of previously unheard phrases and associating web domains with each. "Seven Seraphs," "Osiris," "New Monarchy," and "Dead Orbit" were all copyrighted by the developer, and domain registrations have been spotted. Like the previous "Bungie Aerospace" domain registration, a third-party company was paid to handle the paperwork, lest a paper trail lead back to Bungie (ahem).

Supererogatory discovered the domain registrations and copyright filings, and noted that while the phrase's descriptions denote them as "artwork," that description can also include "all sorts of promotional and marketing, like logos." Perhaps logos for that super secret Activision project (the one that might have a persistent world)? We just don't know (yet).

Bungie web domains, copyright filings discovered for 'Seven Seraphs,' 'Osiris,' 'New Monarchy,' and 'Dead Orbit' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie enlisting beta testers with chance to get in on secret project

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST

Look, it's likely that Bungie's next game is going to be a casual, monster-collecting/kart-racing/trivia/MMA fighting game. Don't you want to get in on that -- on the ground floor? You could be among the first to try Bungie's upcoming, unannounced opus by signing up to become a "Bungie Beta Tester" on the studio's forums. Enlisting in this manner makes you eligible to participate in playtests, surveys and -- as the title suggests -- alpha and beta tests, but Bungie notes, "Not all who enlist will be selected."

Signing up for a chance to participate in a beta test for a game that hasn't even been announced yet may sound kinda odd, but it's a much saner idea than becoming a "Bungee Beta Tester," which is better suited for crash test dummies and other human-shaped things.

Bungie enlisting beta testers with chance to get in on secret project originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard willing to work with Bungie on MMO development

JC Fletcher — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST

During a GDC Online panel about Halo narrative, Bungie creative director Joe Staten alluded to a hypothetical MMO from the developer when he said, "Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you? Wow. That would be great." In a BlizzCon interview with Edge Online, Blizzard's EVP of game design, Rob Pardo, commented on the prospect of working with the new Activision partner on such an MMO. After noting that Blizzard remains focused on its own titles, he spoke welcomely of the idea, also in purely hypothetical terms.

"Activision is in the family and Bungie is doing stuff for Activision," Pardo said. "If they called us up and wanted some advice or wanted to have a conversation, absolutely, but I do that with a lot of my game developer friends throughout the industry."

Asked if Blizzard would provide customer service for a Bungie MMO, he said, "I really have no idea -- that's a lot of speculation. It's possible, I guess." Pardo added that he would be thrilled to see a Bungie MMO "as a gamer." He said that before WoW, Blizzard had no MMO experience -- "so clearly if we can do it, I'm sure a company like Bungie or Valve or Nintendo, or any of those top tier developers, are more than capable of doing it."

[Pictured: Microsoft's canceled "Halo MMO"]

Blizzard willing to work with Bungie on MMO development originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie building a new engine for Activision project

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:55:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Like the Halo series before it, Bungie is working on its own, brand new game engine for use in its forthcoming Activision project. "Just like we don't want to develop a game off someone else's IP, we want to push our own technology in the same way. That's going to be our position for the forseeable future," Bungie's Brian Jarrard told Develop in a recent interview.

Furthermore, that new engine is already being worked on, though it's still in the early stages. "Yeah, [the new engine is] actually in development, so I would say it's in a stage where, technically we're still at the end of a pre-production mode," Jarrard explained. He did admit that, "now that Reach is done the full weight of our team is rolling into the project," adding, "Real work is underway." We're excited to hear more about Bungie's next project, but for now, we've got an inevitable glassing to face.

Bungie building a new engine for Activision project originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie hiring 'Personal Assistant/Gopher' to help with office relocation

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:30:00 EST

Are you always a Johnny (or Julie)-on-the-Spot when one of your friends asks for help with a big cross-town move? You may be able to exercise those skills in a more profitable manner by applying for a position which just came open at Bungie: A "Personal Assistant/Gopher" who will tag along with the Studio Head, and "assist in the coordination of a major office relocation/move."

Which office is moving, and where are they moving to, you might be wondering? That's a great question -- one that's not answered by the fairly discrete hiring notice. We certainly hope Bungie hasn't decided to move in with Activision, however. We're sure they've got room for them, but ... well, it's far too early in the relationship to put that kind of pressure on either party. Not to mention the fact that they'd be living in sin.

Bungie hiring 'Personal Assistant/Gopher' to help with office relocation originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 May 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision to fund costs of Bungie project, which will occupy nearly 200 staff

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:45:00 EST

Reporting today on first quarter 2010 earnings, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick devoted some airtime to the publisher's ten-year "alliance" with Bungie. Speaking to investors during a conference call, Kotick described Bungie's new IP for Activision, which is in pre-production, as "unlike anything audiences have ever seen before." He added, "Bungie will have almost 200 people working on the project, and they're excited to have their products available on multiple platforms in many countries around the world."

Later in the call, COO Thomas Tippl declined to give specific financial details about the parternship, but said, "there was no upfront payment provided." Tippl confirmed that "Activision will be funding the development expenses," and later concluded: "We expect that, as of the first release, the deal will be accretive to Activision's operating margin every year of the alliance."

To put that in Kotick terms: "So, reaching these new larger audiences will be both creatively satisfying and financially rewarding for Bungie and Acivision Blizzard shareholders."

Activision to fund costs of Bungie project, which will occupy nearly 200 staff originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 06 May 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie: We had to break through Infinity Ward 'noise' for Activision news

Justin McElroy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:40:00 EST

Though many have speculated that today's Bungie-Activision partnership announcement was timed to help distract from the ongoing exodus from Activision darling Infinity Ward, the Halo dev insists that wasn't the case. In fact, Bungie's Joseph Staten said the developer was more concerned with the effect the Infinity Ward news could have on Bungie's own announcement.

"Just speaking personally, it gave us a little bit of pause because we're so excited about this news and we knew we'd have to break through a lot of noise to get the message out there," Staten said in an interview with Joystiq today. "So, clearly that wasn't optimal."

Bungie community lead Brian Jarrard later insisted that the Infinity Ward situation wasn't addressed during the developer's meetings with Activision ... Really, guys? That didn't come up? Not even while you were waiting for your Bloomin' Onion or anything? Like, what did you talk about?

Bungie: We had to break through Infinity Ward 'noise' for Activision news originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview: Bungie discusses Activision, its 'new universe,' and what happens to Reach

Christopher Grant — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST

If it seems like all you've read about today is Bungie, well ... that's probably not far from the truth. Whether it's information about the highly anticipated Halo Reach beta - whose early "friends and family" access began today (giveaway here!) - to some unique Halo Reach swag to the news that the now independent developer has partnered with headline hogger Activision, it's Bungie's world today. We spoke with Bungie's Brian Jarrard and Joseph Staten about everything from their choice of Activision, to their plans to support Reach post-release, to their transmedia plans for this "new universe" they keep talking about. Read on for the entire interview!

Joystiq: What would you tell fans that worry about Activision's annualized business model and how that might affect the culture at Bungie?

Brian Jarrard: The great news is that whatever business model Activision might have internally or applied to their first-party studios or their other properties isn't really relevant to our partnership and our plans for what we're going to do with our next, big universe. We have a specific deal that really allows Bungie to focus on what's most important to us which is remaining an independent company and owning our new IP and having creative control to really execute our vision of how we want this universe to play out over the next 10 years. We already have those plans pencilled in; we've already gone through a schedule with real dates and, sort of, real stuff with Activision at the outset of these discussions and we both have a plan that we agree on and that's exactly what Bungie's vision is for our next big universe.

Did you guys seriously consider relationships with any other publishers before signing on with Activision?

Joseph Staten: Sure, absolutely. We've been in negotiations with Activision for about nine months but we've certainly been planning for this conversation since we spun out from Microsoft in 2007. Over the years, I guess, we really talked to ... imagine any major publisher that you can think of and we've probably talked to them over the years. Activision, at the end of the day, was far and away the best deal.

Continue reading Interview: Bungie discusses Activision, its 'new universe,' and what happens to Reach

Interview: Bungie discusses Activision, its 'new universe,' and what happens to Reach originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pachter: First Activision-Bungie game 'well along' in development, will sell at least 10 million units

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:19:00 EST

Though firm details about the terms of the Activision-Bungie partnership are still awfully slim, industry analyst extraordinaire Michael Pachter has given his two cents to Gamasutra about the financial potential of the merger, which should result in Activision earning a great deal more than two cents.

First, Pachter suggests this is a publishing partnership instead of a mere distribution agreement, which will increase Activision's profit margins from around 10 percent to anywhere between 15 and 20 percent on all of Bungie's titles. He estimates that, should the developer's future titles be as popular as its Halo franchise (which typically sold 10 million units a piece), they could sell as many as 15 million units by virtue of Bungie's new multiplatform ambitions. According to his calculations, Activision stands to make $65 million off the first successful Bungie title should it match the success of the Halo series.

The time to test Pachter's calculations might be closer than you'd think -- he reports that the first Bungivision product, which is set in an "action game universe," is "well along in its development." We're not sure how "well along" said title actually is, but we'll keep our ears perked up for an announcement at E3. An announcement for Guitar Halo. There, we said it, alright? We were all thinking it, and now it's out there.

Pachter: First Activision-Bungie game 'well along' in development, will sell at least 10 million units originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halo developer Bungie enters 10-year partnership with Activision

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:53:00 EST

Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder at Activision. Bungie has just announced that it has entered into a ten-year publishing agreement with Activision, which will receive exclusive, worldwide rights to publish all games based on Bungie's "next big action game universe." The deal also notes that Activision will have the rights to publish said games on "multiple platforms and devices," meaning Bungie's longstanding Xbox exclusivity may come to an end.

Furthermore, the agreement specifies that Bungie will remain an independent company and will retain all rights to its intellectual property. Bungie president Harold Ryan notes that the two companies have been working on the deal "over the past nine months."

The specificity of the agreement is noteworthy, especially that Activision only has rights to publish games based on Bungie's new intellectual property -- its "next big action game universe," whatever that may be. The fact that Bungie will retain ownership of its IP is particularly interesting, especially in light of the widening rift between Activision and Infinity Ward.

When Bungie famously split with Microsoft in 2007, it was assumed Microsoft would retain first right of refusal on any future Bungie projects. It's unclear why (or if) Microsoft refused Bungie's latest project, though the company's apparent multiplatform ambitions would provide a likely explanation -- that is, assuming Bungie doesn't have more than one project in the pipeline.

Update: Added commentary from Activision's Thomas Tippl and Bungie's Harold Ryan after the break.

Continue reading Halo developer Bungie enters 10-year partnership with Activision

Halo developer Bungie enters 10-year partnership with Activision originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call of Duty 4 tops Halo 3 in Xbox Live activity

Justin McElroy — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters

Well, this is a surprise. Though it seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut of multiplayer dominance, it appears that Halo 3 has been ousted from the top of the Xbox Live activity chart by Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4. The rest of the top 5 for last week was rounded out by Guitar Hero III, Gears of War and Rock Band.

We have to admit it: We're pretty impressed. Though, now that we think about it, it kind of makes sense. We have been hearing a lot more chatter about friends crawling up the CoD 4 ranks than getting together Halo games as of late. It's not like you can make too much of it after one week, but it's definitely something we're keeping an eye on. What about you? Which one's still getting your gaming minutes?

Call of Duty 4 tops Halo 3 in Xbox Live activity originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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