It was announced years ago, but on August 2nd, it’s finally happening: Bungie is turning over control of Halo to 343 Industries. Halo: Reach, released last September, was the final game the creators of Master Chief developed in the series, but they have continued to control aspects such as playlists, daily/weekly challenges and the stat tracking on bungie.net. That’s all about to end, however, and 343 will be assuming control. Before they head “starside” (more on that later) though, the developer preemptively issued some parting words.
“As we prepare to become fans of the universe our studio began creating more than ten years ago, it’s nice to know that we’ll be counted among such esteemed company. Some might consider the upcoming transition a bittersweet occasion punctuated by a sense of loss and sadness. We feel otherwise. Halo is in great hands…yours.“
They described the last two weeks as a “celebration” and a microcosm of why the past two decades were so “uniquely special” for the dev. Those of us who actively play Reach, will recall that Bungie was giving out jackpots of 30,000 credits in certain playlists last week and gave away steaks (yes, steaks) on Thursday — if you could beat a team of four Bungie employees by 20 or more kills, that is. They also thanked the fans for assisting them in raising “a mountain of money for charity.” Items that benefit charity will continue to be sold on the XBL marketplace and the Bungie store through September.
While all profits from your generous purchases of Bungie 20th Anniversary swag and commemorative items are being donated to charity through the Bungie Foundation, for us the Blue Flames, the studio memorabilia, and even the swag from our own desks and filing cabinets were all part of a long overdue symbolic gesture. Halo is yours now. In many ways, it always has been. Its new caretakers will strive, just as we did, to be worthy stewards but you have the package. Hold these characters and stories and worlds to the same unflinching standards you did while we were at the helm, but allow them all to blossom and change and grow in the ways that they must.
Speaking of changes, bungie.net is about to warp into something entirely different. There’s the aforementioned changing of the guard on August 2nd, with 343 grabbing control of the playlists. On that day, Bungie will post a new video documentary, “O Brave New Worlds,” that will contain their thoughts on the past 20 years. The web site will also slowly shift gears to focus on their next project.
Don’t get too excited about that last bit, however; the studio will continue its “dark” phase on the project for sometime yet. They then thanked the fans and said that this is not a “goodbye” nor is it “The End.” (Yes, with caps, so you know it’s serious.) Finally, there’s a bunch of talk about darkness, light and the heavens and they close by again saying, “See you starside.” Are these cryptic words some sort of inside reference to their next project (heavily rumored to be an MMO)? Probably, but there’s no way of knowing what exactly they mean just yet. We’re sure that won’t stop their most rabbid fans from trying to decipher them, though.
[Source: Bungie]
[Image via Northwest Gamer.]
