Rumor: Microsoft has been in talks to acquire Bungie multiple times but they fell through each time due to Bungie's high price [Up: CEO Denies]

Sydle · Sep 14, 2020

If Bungie were acquired I very much doubt they touch Halo.

343 can make good games, there is a ton of talent there. They may need to take a good look at leadership.

Chibs said:
Strange story.
Why would they quit Microsoft, then go to Activision, then go independent, only to go back to Microsoft again?

Bungie wanted to work on something other than Halo, needed funds from a big publisher, didn't like working with Activision, needs funds again.

Present-day Xbox seems like the kind of publisher they wanted back in 2007-08. They probably would have never left MS if they could have moved on from Halo.

Diarrhea Day-Lewis · Sep 14, 2020

Destiny is so big, especially on PS4, I wonder if this would be a Minecraft situation where Xbox would own it but they'd allow it to be on other systems too

Smokey · Sep 14, 2020

Kappakerby said:
GOBankingRates' Evaluation of
Disney Net Worth
$128.8B

GOBankingRates' Evaluation of Microsoft Net Worth
$519,875,667

I was mainly being facetious - poking fun at Disney's forever buying up of anything and everything they can get their hands on. But, in reality, Disney could buy Microsoft as well as large parts of Europe if they wanted to.

lmao wtf is this

Ryan. · Sep 14, 2020

TitlePending said:
I thought Bungie left MS BECAUSE they wanted to do something besides Halo.

Who said they would on Halo if they returned?

I imagine something like that would be discussed in the terms of the deal.

Kappakerby · Sep 14, 2020

TheJackdog said:
that isnt how net worth works....
or market caps
or liquidity
or buying companies
or pure common business sense

Gay Bowser said:
What? MSFT has a market cap of 1.58T. Microsoft is worth about six times what Disney is. No, Disney could not buy them.

That "evaluation" is literally off by three orders of magnitude. The fuck?

I have $200 in my bank account. I understand the word "worth." lol
After looking up market cap and what that means, I realized I was wrong and out of my league to talk about financial matter.
I'm out. lol

Maverick-Swe · Sep 14, 2020

Betamaxbandit said:
oh man thats a very generalised, lazy statement right there. Are Naughtdog the same? (third person/action/adv) What about ID, Rockstar, I mean Sony Santa Monica have made 7 God of War games alone.

Bungie were and still are a very talented studio and one that I cant see being bought by MS again

Just look at 2000-2010 Bungie was Ms's golden studio. Everything Bungie touched was hyped enormously. From 2010-2020 it's completely different. Nobody cares about Destiny after two games. Sure the launch of Destiny was exciting as everybody were looking for something new and fresh during the beta but that quickly went dead after the game was released.
I'm not saying nobody is playing Destiny but did it really live up to the hype? I don't think so.
Who knows what Activision did to Bungie during these 10 years but it feels Activision killed Bungie? Nobody cares about Bungie anymore.

I don't think your comparison with Naughty Dog is valid as Nd make different kind of games in 3rd person shooter from adventure and w/e you call tlou. ND is today what Bungie was 15-20 years ago. Everything Nd touches turns to gold.

Prinz Eugn · Sep 14, 2020

Sure, Microsoft is going to take Halo from the studio they literally built to develop not only the games - but the entire franchise - and hand it to the studio that left MS in large part because they wanted to get out of making those games.

Yah, totally going to happen, right after the sun turns to gummy bears and we all freeze to death orbiting a cold, dark sphere of Haribo.

Bosch · Sep 14, 2020

It would be their best move. They can delivery Halo to greatness again. Close 343 and with the money buy Bungie.

Ryan. · Sep 14, 2020

Some of y'all really want Bungie to come in and "fix" Halo, presumably a franchise that is becoming some sort of GaaS, when one of the biggest complaints of Bungie over the past couple of years is that they're struggling with their own GaaS.

Rosebud · Sep 14, 2020

Phil is crazy for Destiny, why would Bungie shift to Halo lol

Deleted member 19293 · Sep 14, 2020

Eurogamer is as good a source as there could be about this, but this would be a very odd decision from both companies.

KillLaCam · Sep 14, 2020

Gloam said:
Why would Bungie go back?

Money and MS would probably give them a bunch of freedom this time.

groganos · Sep 14, 2020

Pancracio17 said:
Yeah. If MS does end up buying Bungie, I think Bungie and 343 will have a lot of crossover and communicate a lot but they will be different studios with 343 working on Halo.

Actually I can see bungie or 343 helping each other out a lot, they both work on their own projects but if one needs a hand the other can send over some employees to help hit launch for their respective projects. They both have a decent amount of employees so it might be worth it to Microsoft to beef up their employee pool while not have to rely on so much outsourcing.

coma · Sep 14, 2020

Destiny could use the help.

GattsuSama · Sep 14, 2020

I would be down for this so much. Even if Bungie does not go back to Halo they will definitely collaborate or pass their input in some form.

Not sure how it would work out for Destiny as a series. Maybe the plan is to stop Destiny after 2, allow them resources to keep it going on every platform and get them to do a 3rd new IP.

TheGhost · Sep 14, 2020

Ryan. said:
Some of y'all really want Bungie to come in and "fix" Halo, presumably a franchise that is becoming some sort of GaaS, when one of the biggest complaints of Bungie over the past couple of years is that they're struggling with their own GaaS.

They maybe struggling but they are succeeding otherwise devs wouldn't be tripping over themselves to make their own destiny game.

Marcus Aurelius · Sep 14, 2020

I would be alright with this. Give Halo back to who it rightfully belongs.

KillingJoke · Sep 14, 2020

I don't think it will change console sales. Better off paying for exclusive content.

KodiakGTS · Sep 14, 2020

If it's true that the discussions are being driven from the Bungie side of things, this is very interesting. The way Microsoft handles studios now is what Bungie wanted them to be back before the split. I wouldn't be terribly upset if they ended up working out a deal. At least that way we know Bungie would be funded for a while and we'd get day and date PC releases like all other planned MSFT exclusives.

Ryan. · Sep 14, 2020

TheGhost said:
They maybe struggling but they are succeeding otherwise devs wouldn't be tripping over themselves to make their own destiny game.

Your reply really doesn't mean much to my post.

Destiny players have a love hate relationship with the game even as the game has a lot of issues from content, balancing, and bug fixing. People joke about what's going to be broken in the next patch, season, or expansion. Yeah, that's the kind of mentality I want when playing Halo.

NateDrake · Sep 14, 2020

Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

BioDigital Jazzman · Sep 14, 2020

Gloam said:
Why would Bungie go back?

Self publishing is hard and risky and we see that they took on money from net ease to do their next project. Being under a publisher isn't bad if they give you freedom

TheGhost · Sep 14, 2020

Ryan. said:
Your reply really doesn't mean much to my post.

Destiny players have a love hate relationship with the game even as the game has a lot of issues from content, balancing, and bug fixing. People joke about what's going to be broken in the next patch, season, or expansion. Yeah, that's the kind of mentality I want when playing Halo.

You already have that with halo

Gwendly_ · Sep 14, 2020

Maverick-Swe said:
Just look at 2000-2010 Bungie was Ms's golden studio. Everything Bungie touched was hyped enormously. From 2010-2020 it's completely different. Nobody cares about Destiny after two games. Sure the launch of Destiny was exciting as everybody were looking for something new and fresh during the beta but that quickly went dead after the game was released.
I'm not saying nobody is playing Destiny but did it really live up to the hype? I don't think so.
Who knows what Activision did to Bungie during these 10 years but it feels Activision killed Bungie? Nobody cares about Bungie anymore.

I don't think your comparison with Naughty Dog is valid as Nd make different kind of games in 3rd person shooter from adventure and w/e you call tlou. ND is today what Bungie was 15-20 years ago. Everything Nd touches turns to gold.

Even when Destiny is in a lull it's in the top 15 most played games on steam so I'd say they do ok even if they maybe aren't the biggest game day in and day out

Ryan. · Sep 14, 2020

TheGhost said:
You already have that with halo

So why would you want to guarantee that still happens with Bungie developing it?

Strakt · Sep 14, 2020

Ryan. said:
Your reply really doesn't mean much to my post.

Destiny players have a love hate relationship with the game even as the game has a lot of issues from content, balancing, and bug fixing. People joke about what's going to be broken in the next patch, season, or expansion. Yeah, that's the kind of mentality I want when playing Halo.

There is not a single game out there that players don't have a love/hate relationship with after playing it for some time. Look at World of Warcraft, the biggest MMO.. its had its ups and its had quite its downs. There is no game out there that is perfect. If it was constant hate and no love, the game wouldn't have the playerbase it has now.

Maple · Sep 14, 2020

NateDrake said:
Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

That...seems incredibly cheap. Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion but $2 billion is too much for Bungie and Destiny? Odd.

And yeah I think creative independence and autonomy would be a requirement for Bungie, especially after Activision became way too hands on and involved.

Ascenion · Sep 14, 2020

NateDrake said:
Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

I can see why the talks fell apart then. But I definitely get where Bungie is coming from.

Rosebud · Sep 14, 2020

Maple said:
That...seems incredibly cheap. Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion but $2 billion is too much for Bungie and Destiny? Odd.

And yeah I think creative independence and autonomy would be a requirement for Bungie, especially after Activision became way too hands on and involved.

Minecraft is basically this generation's Lego, Destiny doesn't comes close.

Dead Man Typing · Sep 14, 2020

Styles said:
Didn't Bungie just buy themselves out of Activision? This is too amusing.

Not really, Destiny wasn't as successful / profitable as Activision wanted, so the agreement was mutually dissolved.

Lots of people play Destiny but the upkeep costs of continuous development must be huge, too.

Something like the Gamepass / xCloud deal makes a lot of sense and should help them out until they can get true crossplay in the game next year.

Skeff · Sep 14, 2020

NateDrake said:
Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

Yikes $2bn and indepence, no wonder MS didnt bite.

dlauv · Sep 14, 2020

I wonder if Phil can "c'mon guys" 'em down to 1.5b.

As far as independence, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception with modern MS studios.

BioDigital Jazzman · Sep 14, 2020

Maple said:
That...seems incredibly cheap. Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion but $2 billion is too much for Bungie and Destiny? Odd.

And yeah I think creative independence and autonomy would be a requirement for Bungie, especially after Activision became way too hands on and involved.

Mine craft either the first or second biggest game in the world and sold like 70 million copies since the purchase. They aren't in the same league

Deleted member 29249 · Sep 14, 2020

If the next expasion is as bad as the last I hope they get some help.

Negotiator117 · Sep 14, 2020

Ukumio said:
There's no doubt that Microsoft can afford Bungie, but whether they'll see a return on investment is another story. Bungie is/was a great studio and Destiny is still a major player but both the studio and the game aren't without controversy.

Perfectly put.

Makeno · Sep 14, 2020

Bout damn time we get an Oni sequel.

groganos · Sep 14, 2020

NateDrake said:
Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

Well that's half of what att was rumored to want for wb (with all the caveats that included) so it seems a bit high from afar but not like ridiculously overpriced.

Negotiator117 · Sep 14, 2020

unicornKnight said:
They should buy CDPR instead. Hope they have 10 billions available.

Warchest.

Biggzy · Sep 14, 2020

BioDigital Jazzman said:
Self publishing is hard and risky and we see that they took on money from net ease to do their next project. Being under a publisher isn't bad if they give you freedom

Especially with the ambitions of Bungie, it requires $100s of millions to support it and that funding is not so easy to find.

The perfect scenario would be to be acquired by a major publisher but able to remain independent and make their own creative decisions, similar to Respawn and EA really.

Vico · Sep 14, 2020

NateDrake said:
Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

The question is... What does independance mean in this case? They all seem to have some kind of creative independance, so what is Mojang's specific independance parameters that are interesting for Bungie?

What Mojang is doing differently than the other Xbox studios is letting their franchise still be multiplatform despite being part of a console maker, but other than that, what are they doing "independantly"?

Van Bur3n · Sep 14, 2020

One thing for sure if this were to happen, they ain't going back to Halo.

TheGhost said:
Source?

Play Destiny 2.

Axel Stone · Sep 14, 2020

groganos said:
Well that's half of what att was rumored to want for wb (with all the caveats that included) so it seems a bit high from afar but not like ridiculously overpriced.

WB is made up of 11 studios, this is half that amount for one (albeit large). I'd expect that Bungie wouldn't be including the Destiny IP either.

tutomos · Sep 14, 2020

It should be a no-brainer deal for MS. With Bungie you get a team that's proven in gaas that aligns with game pass's business model and you take the pressure off of 343 and Halo.

Bear · Sep 14, 2020

Maple said:
That...seems incredibly cheap. Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion but $2 billion is too much for Bungie and Destiny? Odd.

And yeah I think creative independence and autonomy would be a requirement for Bungie, especially after Activision became way too hands on and involved.

Minecraft is a massive franchise, probably the second biggest only to Fortnite. You're deeply undervaluing it and overvaluing Bungie.

Sydle · Sep 14, 2020

NateDrake said:
Bungie wanted in the area of $2bn and to retain independence similar to Mojang.

$2B does seem too high unless Bungie has a solid plan to bring in a lot more Destiny players, or their new IP has a ton of potential. Creative independence seems like a given with Xbox as a publisher these days.

Servbot24 · Sep 14, 2020

coma said:
Destiny could use the help.

I don't think lack of money is Destiny's problem.

DopeyFish · Sep 14, 2020

Vico said:
The question is... What does independance mean in this case? They all seem to have some kind of creative independance, so what is Mojang's specific independance parameters that are interesting for Bungie?

What Mojang is doing differently than the other Xbox studios is letting their franchise still be multiplatform despite being part of a console maker, but other than that, what are they doing "independantly"?

I don't think independence is the issue here, mostly the money lol

MS is fine with devs doing their own thing. Ninja Theory, Obsidian, InXile and Double Fine are all studios that required independence.

Rosebud · Sep 14, 2020

Vico said:
The question is... What does independance mean in this case? They all seem to have some kind of creative independance, so what is Mojang's specific independance parameters that are interesting for Bungie?

What Mojang is doing differently than the other Xbox studios is letting their franchise still be multiplatform despite being part of a console maker, but other than that, what are they doing "independantly"?

I think their games aren't play anywhere, Minecraft not on PC GP and Steam. Also working on VR despite Xbox not having VR.

And of course, multiplat.

BioDigital Jazzman · Sep 14, 2020

Vico said:
The question is... What does independance mean in this case? They all seem to have some kind of creative independance, so what is Mojang's specific independance parameters that are interesting for Bungie?

What Mojang is doing differently than the other Xbox studios is letting their franchise still be multiplatform despite being part of a console maker, but other than that, what are they doing "independantly"?

I mean most of MS studios have some degree of independence now. Destiny would likely stay multi platform with expansions being included on gamepass. The New IP may be exclusive. I think they just mean no MS meddling which isn't the case anyway now

Necron · Sep 14, 2020

Not surprising - how many employees does Bungie have? About 1'000?

Rumor: Microsoft has been in talks to acquire Bungie multiple times but they fell through each time due to Bungie's high price [Up: CEO Denies]

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