The developers behind the industry hits Destiny and Halo have announced plans to assume full publishing rights for the Destiny franchise.Bungie tweeted an official announcement on Twitter earlier today.
While they have not cited a specific reason as to why the decision was made to split from the publishing giant Activision, some have speculated that the increasingly frequent use of micro-transactions have played a part. The developer also stated that the gaming industry has changed since the beginning of their relationship with Activision.
Activision however did state that the sales for the Destiny 2 :Forsaken DLC fell short of expectations in early November. The publisher also said that a faster content model and new forms of monetization would be coming. This was met with immediate blowback from players and while the revamping did cater to hardcore Destiny players, sales still weren’t performing as well as Activision wanted.
Both Activision and Bungie have agreed to be “committed to making the hand-off as seamless as possible” and do seem to both be cordial in regards to the split. Activision tweeted a joint statement from both parties stating:
Today, we’re announcing plans for Bungie to assume full publishing rights and responsibilities for the Destiny franchise. Going forward, Bungie will own and develop the franchise, and Activision will increase its focus on owned IP and other projects. Activision and Bungie are committed to a seamless transition for the Destiny franchise and will continue to work closely together during the transition on behalf of the community of Destiny players around the world.
While this split is a shock to most of us it has been greeted with an overall positive reaction throughout the industry and community. We are excited to see how this effects the development of new games from Bungie and we’ll be sure to let you know any new updates regarding the veteran developers.
Looking forward to a very bright future working with one of my favorite independent studios on one of my favorite franchises. Excited to see how they continue to grow and evolve Destiny.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 10, 2019
What do you think? Are you excited to see what Bungie has coming down the pipeline? Be sure to let us know in the comments!