Mac game OGs and Halo creators Bungie Studios are about to emerge from their indentured servitude to Microsoft, according to official PR from Redmond. The companies are about to evolve their relationship, which apparently means MS would be an investor in a newly independent Bungie Studios and publish any games they create. No potential for Bungie work that isn’t focused on “Microsoft platforms” is indicated.
I’m not quite sure what to make of the announcement. The timing makes some sense, as Halo 3 is newly out the door and a hit. The guys at Bungie made the best Mac games ever back in the ’90s (particularly Marathon 2 and Myth II), and the tie-up to launch Halo on Xbox brought an end to that. Let’s just hope their new agreement gives them the flexibility to embrace the Mac wholeheartedly again. Seems unlikely, but this is the best it’s been in almost 7 years.
Via Daring Fireball
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
