Back in the 2000s, Microsoft had acquiredBungiebefore its release of the incredibly successful and influential FPS mega-hitHalo: Combat Evolved. The game put the Washington-based studio in the spotlight, turningHalointo a profitable franchise for the Xbox console. The partnership would last until 2007 when Bungie then split from Microsoft to become an independent developer.
Nowadays, Bungie is still seen as an acclaimed game developer, as evidenced by its current hit titleDestiny 2.Bungie is also celebrating its 30th anniversarywith tons of content forDestiny 2, such as new weapons and Exotic buffs. While the developer is seeing success with its own IP, Microsoft’sHaloseries is still going in its own direction with other development teams. Intriguingly, Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently commented on if Bungie could have still been a part of the parent company today.
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In an interview with Axios, Spencer was discussing the history ofBungie’s work on the Xboxand how things went down. When he was asked if the split from Microsoft was inevitable, he commented that Microsoft could have been able to hold onto the formerHalodeveloper. “Could we do it today? I think we could,” Spencer said.
Spencer followed up on the inquiry, however, saying he understood whyBungieleft Microsoft. “At the time they had big ambitions. They had sold their business for a certain amount of money,” said Spencer. He noted that with the release ofHalo, it was a bigger success for the parent company instead of the developers and team that were in the trenches. He continued this train of thought, with his next comment referring to Bungie’s sci-fi shooter, “If you’re saying, ‘Hey, I think I’ve got another one of those in me. I want to really take another chance,’ I can understand the allure of doing that as an independent company.”
This can certainly give fans the idea of a potential hypothetical timeline whereHalowas still being developed by the developers that started it all. This could have included Bungie possibly working on the upcomingHalo Infinite, whichPhil Spencer himself noted had a bit of a rocky revealbefore its official release.
With bothHaloInfinitecoming out next week and Bungie celebrating a monumental milestone, there were some fans who had hoped there might have been a crossover between the two properties. There were recentDestiny 2screenshots that seemingly hinted at aHalocrossovercoming in time for the 30th Anniversary pack, with references to the latter’s iconic Needler gun and protagonist Master Chief. However, there currently doesn’t seem to be any official word on this crossover being true, either from Microsoft orBungie. Regardless, it is interesting to think about how things would have been if the two companies remained together.
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