Tag: Bungie
News Bungie Provides Dev Update On Marathon, Encourages Xbox Fans To 'Wish List'
New art, playtest plans and "more" in 2025
Former Halo developer Bungie has today provided an update on its new extraction shooter Marathon, which was officially announced in 2023. In today's update, game director Joe Ziegler explained how it's still a little bit early to show the game as one piece, but everything in terms of the development is...
News Xbox 360 Classic Halo 3: ODST Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary
"Remember the Rookie"
Microsoft is already planning for certain other Halo and Xbox-related anniversaries, but right now, the focus is on the Xbox 360 classic Halo 3: ODST. Believe it or not, but it's now been 15 years since we dropped into New Mombasa as a rookie on a mission to locate Alpha-Nine. This also includes the debut of the wave-based...
News Xbox Exec Reveals How Much Money Microsoft Has Made From Halo
And it's probably grown since!
Look, we know that Halo is one of Xbox's biggest franchises - it's been synonymous with the brand since 2001 when it made its OG Xbox debut. It's always been safe to assume that the famous sci-fi series makes plenty of bank for Microsoft, and a new LinkedIn post hints at the kind of money the Xbox owner is bringing in...
News Bungie Reveals 'Future Of Destiny 2' As Original Game Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary
Has it really been 10 years?
We're really in anniversary mode at the moment, as following the recent celebrations for both Starfield and Gears 5, we've got also got Bungie celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Destiny, which first launched on September 9, 2014. As a result, there are a few cool things taking place - like an art gallery experience...
Talking Point Next Month Marks The 15th Anniversary Of Halo's Weirdest Console Release
ODSTs unite!
Looking back at all of these Xbox 360 anniversaries these days is starting to make us feel hella old, but today's revelation was a particularly hard punch to the gut. In just over a month's time, Halo 3: ODST will be 15 years old - so here's a timely tribute to what is probably Halo's weirdest console release. Launched back in...
News Bungie Is 'Deepening Integration' With Sony As Layoffs Hit Ex-Halo Developer
"The new path for Bungie"
Bungie has today announced a "new path" for its future in game development, as the team behind Halo and Destiny "deepens" its relationship with owner Sony. This new path unfortunately includes some layoffs, although the team's further integration with the PlayStation maker appears to have dampened the impact of these job...
News Destiny 2: The Final Shape Servers Collapse Under Increased Traffic
Update: Bungie issues apology
Update [Thu 6th Jun, 2024 06:30 BST]: Following the troubled launch of 'The Final Shape', Bungie has issued an apology. It seems "several critical issues" have now been resolved, with the team closely monitoring the player population and increasing server capacity over time. Bungie: "We built The Final Shape to be an...
Rumour Destiny 3 Is In Development At Bungie Under The Codename 'Payback'
Taking shape
Yesterday, Bungie dropped its big gameplay trailer for Destiny 2: The Final Shape, marking what is expected to be the game's last major expansion and the end of the D2 era. While it looks like the team will go out with a bang on all-things Destiny 2 with TFS, rumours are starting to swirl about what's next for the franchise. These...
News Halo's Legendary Composer Marty O'Donnell Announces Political Career Switch
House of Reckoning? Nah, more like House of Representatives
Back in June 2021, Halo's legendary Bungie-era composer Marty O' Donnell announced that he was thinking of calling time on his career in gaming - and we must admit, we didn't expect him to announce such a huge career shift less than three years later. Taking to Twitter today, O'Donnell has...
News Bungie's Independence Reportedly Under Threat After Layoffs & Destiny 2 Expansion Delay
Sony could step in and "swallow Bungie whole"
There's unfortunately some more concerning news making headlines today about Destiny 2 and original Halo developer Bungie. According to an update from IGN's Rebekah Valentine, the studio remains a "fully independent subsidiary of Sony" but it's been suggested that the "split between Sony and Bungie"...
News PlayStation Studio Bungie Knows It's 'Lost' A Lot Of The Destiny 2 Community's Trust
"This has been one of the most difficult weeks"
Earlier this week, Bungie confirmed it had to say goodbye to many colleagues after a report revealed the PlayStation-owned studio had axed 8% of its workforce (around 100 jobs). Bungie higher-ups had also revealed just weeks before to staff that the company was running at 45% below its revenue...
News PlayStation Studio & Former Halo Dev Bungie Cuts Staff After Game Delays
Update: 8% of staff reportedly gone
Update [Wed 1st Nov, 2023 00:00 GMT]: Following the initial announcement of layoffs at Bungie, a new report by Bloomberg has now revealed the the decisio
News Original Halo Dev Admits One Level Made The Cut That 'Probably Shouldn't Have'
And did you know the tank was almost axed?
Halo: Combat Evolved played a huge part in the success of the original Xbox and was at the time labelled one of the best games ever made, but its development was a difficult and challenging process, as the original development team reminds us. Speaking to Edge Magazine recently, Bungie co-founder Alex...
Random Fake 'Halo 3 Remastered' Ads Appear On Times Square Billboard
This would be one way to announce it!
'Halo 3 Remastered' doesn't exist in any form right now — at least as far as we know publicly — but the small fact that it's not a real thing doesn't seem to be stopping some Halo fans from pretending to believe. As we've spotted over on the Halo subreddit, some fans of the series appear to be paying to...
News 343 Is Bringing Loads Of Never-Before-Seen Halo 1 & 2 Content To Master Chief Collection On PC
Maps, weapons, assets and more!
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is already a mammoth catalogue of games containing all of the Bungie- era Halo titles and more, but it's about to get even bigger on PC. As part of the team's 'Digsite' project, 343 has shown off a bunch of old archived Halo goodies that are being re-worked for MCC on PC. There's...
News SEGA & Bungie Included In Huge List Of Companies Xbox Has Considered Acquiring
"We believe Sega has built a well-balanced portfolio"
It's been revealed today that Microsoft and Team Xbox have considered purchasing the likes of SEGA and Bungie in the past, with the information surfacing courtesy of The Verge as part of this week's FTC hearing. In fact, the outlet has even got email proof of this from November 2020, which shows...
News Bungie's New 'Marathon' Is An Extraction Shooter Coming To Xbox Series X And S
From the creators of Halo
Bungie has officially unveiled its revival of 'Marathon' - an old series that the famous Halo developer worked on prior to Xbox's blockbuster franchise. This time, the IP is coming back as an extraction shooter, and Xbox Series X|S is thankfully included in the platform list. For now, we don't have any kind of release date...
News Ex-Halo Lead Announces New Project After Leaving Team Xbox
Moving onto pastures new
Earlier this month, Halo veteran and long-time Xbox developer Joseph Staten revealed that he was leaving Microsoft, and he's not taken long to announce where he's heading. In a new social media post today, the Halo Infinite project lead has revealed his new destination. Staten is heading over to Netflix to direct something...
News Lance Reddick, The Voice Of Commander Zavala In Destiny 2, Has Passed Away
Bungie pays its respects
There's some incredibly sad news coming out of Hollywood today with a TMZ report revealing The Wire and John Wick actor Lance Reddick has passed away at the age of 60. It's believed he died of natural causes. The actor was also known within the video game community for his extensive role as Commander Zavala in Bungie's...
News Destiny 2 Is 'Blocking' Sign-Ins As Lightfall Expansion Arrives On Xbox Series X And S
If you're running into issues, here's what to do
Destiny 2: Lightfall is now live after a brief period of downtime for Bungie's MMO shooter, but there appear to be some launch day problems specific to the Xbox Series X|S versions of the game. "We are investigating an issue blocking sign-in for some Xbox Series X|S players. These players will not...
News Microsoft Releases 'Never Before Seen' Screenshots Of Halo 2
Straight from mod documentation
If you're a fan of Halo and loved the second entry in the series, you might be interested in the new official mod tool documentation for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a Halo release Microsoft continues to support to this day. The company shared the doc on its official website earlier today, and as highlighted by...
News Bungie Is 'Modifying' Destiny 2 To Work Better On Xbox One Consoles
Destined for change
In its latest 'This Week at Bungie' blog post, the Destiny developer has detailed some interesting changes coming to the last-gen versions of Destiny 2. In order to ensure that Bungie's ever-evolving shooter continues to work well on older systems, the team has made some changes to the way visuals work on Xbox One. In short,...
Feature 15 Years Ago Today, Halo 3's Phenomenal 'Believe' Marketing Campaign Began
It made us believe
Picture this: it's 2007, it's been a solid three years since Halo 2 dropped and the excitement around Halo 3's launch is palpable. You've seen multiple trailers at this stage since the game's reveal at E3 2006, and you don't think the hype can grow any further. Then, Xbox launches its Halo 3 'Believe' marketing campaign, with a...
Reaction More Gaming Acquisitions Doesn't Necessarily Mean More Exclusives
The tides are changing
We seem to be caught in a whirlwind of gaming acquisition news as of late, from progress on the Xbox ActiBlizz deal, to Embracer buying a bunch of studios, to rumours about an EA deal, and even more besides. While these deals often bring out both supporters and sceptics in
News Almost 20 Years Later, 'Nearly Unbeatable' Halo 2 Challenge Finally Beaten
Never give up
It's been way more than a 'hot minute' since Halo 2 released, but that hasn't stopped folks playing it since release in 2004. Of course, its inclusion in Halo: The Master Chief Collection probably helped, but it hardly needed any help, did it? Having said all that, this is not something we expected to read in August 2022... After 18...
News Xbox's Phil Spencer Celebrates 'Bungie Day', Shares Kind Words For The Studio
"Congrats on all you've accomplished"
Yesterday was "Bungie Day", starting off a week of celebrations at the Destiny and former Halo developer, and Head of Xbox Phil Spencer took some time to share kind words for the studio in a message over on Twitter. In response to a blog post about the celebrations, Spencer noted how the company has built...
News Bungie Designer Shows Off Awesome Halo 5 & Halo Infinite UI Concepts
These look epic!
Games go through masses and masses of concept phases, especially huge AAA projects like, you know, launching a mainline Halo title. Well, Bungie designer Jeff Christy has shared some concepts from their time working on Halo 5 and Halo Infinite, and some of these look quite different to the final products! First up, Halo 5. The team...
News Former Xbox Employee Joins Bungie As 'Project Lead' For Destiny 2 Expansions
Phil Spencer: "Congrats Catarina"
Earlier this year, Sony shared some surprising news - revealing it had acquired the former Halo developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. It seems it's not the only former team Xbox member jumping ship to PlayStation. Former senior program manager at Xbox's research and development division, Catarina Macedo, has now...
News Destiny Fan Videos Are Receiving Takedowns On YouTube, Bungie Responds
Says it's "not" the work of Bungie or its partners
Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2, has clarified to the game's community that's its "not" behind the latest series of copyright takedowns on YouTube. Various fan channels have been targeted for uploading videos featuring music tracks from the game, and even some of Bungie's own channels have...
News Sony Explains Why Bungie Joined PlayStation Studios
Bungie wants its IP to "grow big", potentially beyond games
Sony's recent announcement that it would be acquiring Destiny 2 developer Bungie has left a lot scratching their heads. The developer moved away from Microsoft and eventually did the same thing with Activision - reclaiming its independence, and yet now it's signed on with Sony. While...
News Major Gaming Deals Are In The 'Final Stages Of Negotiations', Says Geoff Keighley
Who's next?
The latest gaming company to get snapped up is Bungie, with Sony picking them up at a price of $3.6 billion. Well, there may be more deals coming in the short term, as companies compete for the strongest library of games. The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley has taken to Twitter today to reveal that he's heard some major video game...
News Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Congratulates Sony On Bungie Acquisition
Head of PlayStation Studios says it's "exciting times to be a gamer"
PlayStation has finally responded to Microsoft's string of acquisitions - announcing it will be acquiring the American developer Bungie (the studio known for Destiny and the original Halo series on Xbox) for $3.6 billion. Destiny 2 is one of Phil Spencer's favourite games on the...
News Sony Boss Tells PlayStation Owners To 'Expect More Acquisitions'
Hold onto your butts
It's really kicking off now. Microsoft has bought Activision, Sony has bought Bungie, and now PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has told GamesIndustry.biz's Chris Dring to "expect more" acquisitions from Sony and the blue brand. Dring mentioned this while explaining that Sony's acquisition of Bungie wasn't a knee-jerk reaction to Xbox...
News Bungie Confirms Destiny And Future Games Will Still Be On Xbox
No plans for any exclusives
Sony dropped the bombshell on us today that it's buying Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion, but the great news from an Xbox perspective is that Bungie isn't planning on making any PlayStation exclusives anytime soon. In a message posted on the official Bungie website, the studio made it clear that it wants to keep...
News Sony Acquiring Bungie For $3.6 Billion, Studio Will Remain Multiplatform
Another major acquisition
What is happening this year?! Just weeks after Microsoft announced it was acquiring Activision for a little under $70 billion, Sony has now announced that it is acquiring Destiny (and former Halo) studio Bungie for $3.6 billion. However, it's been confirmed that Bungie will remain a multiplatform studio with the ability...
Random Halo 3 Players Band Together To Earn Final Achievement Before Servers Close
The final countdown
The Halo games on Xbox 360 will see their servers (mostly) closed for good this week. That's right, 343 Industries is sunsetting Xbox 360 era Halo on January 13th, in favour of supporting The Master Chief Collection. However, that hasn't stopped a squad of Spartans banding together for what may be the final time. As spotted by...
News Bungie Appears To Be Hiring For Its Unannounced Project
What could it be?
Last year, you might recall how the Destiny and former Halo developer Bungie was teasing something, that appeared to be tied to an unannounced project. While it seems nobody really knows exactly what is going on behind the scenes at Bungie, it's still recruiting for this new project, with a former Guild Wars 2 team member signing...
News Bungie Shares Halo x Destiny Boxart To Celebrate Its 30th Anniversary
And it's 20 years for Halo!
Bungie the original development team behind the Halo series is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. As part of this, it's been sharing its history with the assistance of its latest release, Destiny 2. Perhaps the highlight of the lot for Halo and Xbox fans is a recreation of the original Halo: Combat Evolved box...
News Phil Spencer Thinks The Xbox Of Today Could Have Held On To Bungie
"We've learned a lot"
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has been talking to Axios about Bungie's split from Microsoft back in 2007, admitting that based on how Xbox operates today, he believes Microsoft could have held onto the Destiny and former Halo developer. "We've learned a lot", Spencer told the outlet about Bungie's history with Xbox. He pointed out...
News Ex-Bungie Composer Tells Fans To Destroy Destiny Music He Wasn't Supposed To Release
Court-enforced video released on YouTube
Former Bungie music composer Marty O'Donnell, who was fired by the company in 2014 and ordered to return all materials related to Destiny and its "Music of the Spheres" prequel, has been forced to post a video on his YouTube channel requesting fans who previously downloaded any such assets to "delete them and...
Random Halo's Legendary Multiplayer Announcer Does Voice Lines From Destiny 2
Just imagine a crossover
Although Bungie moved on from the Halo series more than a decade ago, plenty of fans still like to reminisce. One individual who has been around since the series' inception is the voice actor Jeff Steitzer - Halo's famous multiplayer announcer. He worked with Bungie back in the day, but what would it be like if he was...
News Legendary Halo Composer Thinking About Calling Time On His Career
Finish the fight, Marty
If you love Halo, Marty O'Donnell needs no introduction. Back in the day, he composed all of the iconic tunes featured throughout the series and eventually moved across to Destiny, which was also developed by Bungie. In somewhat sad news, he's today shared a message on social media mentioning how he's thinking about retiring...
News Bungie's Employees Seem To Be Really Excited About Something
"Don’t think I have ever left a company meeting more hyped"
Odd behaviour from Bungie staff on social media over the past week has caught the attention of many fans of the company. A number of employees are simply tweeting the word "Bungie" with no context attached. Here's just one example, from Christopher Barrett - the director of an...
News Bungie Announces Studio Expansion, Planning To Release New IP By 2025
Alongside working on new Destiny related "experiences"
With the growing success of the company, Bungie has announced a massive studio expansion which will see its headquarters in the US almost triple in size, along with an international division setting up shop in Amsterdam. The expansion to its headquarters, which is expected to be finished by...
News Bungie's Halo Archive Is Finally Going Offline This February
Last chance to save your stats and files
It's the end of an era, folks! Bungie has announced that it will officially be shutting down its Halo website on February 9th, removing a selection of stats and files from those original Halo games in the process. In a message as part of a regular update, Bungie revealed the news: "Almost nine years ago,...
News Bungie Reveals More Details About Destiny 2's Xbox Series X Upgrade
Arriving in just a few days' time
The next major Xbox One game to get the 'Optimised' treatment for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will be Bungie's Destiny 2, and the developer has now shared more details on what to expect from it next week. Arriving on Tuesday, December 8th, the enhancement will bring a variety of improvements to the game on...
News Can You Believe It? Halo 2 Is Now 16 Years Old
Time flies when you're saving humanity
Just before the launch of the Xbox Series X|S this week, Halo 2 actually celebrated its 16th anniversary. Yep, when Bungie's second game landed on the original Xbox in 2004, it was the first Halo title on the system to allow players to take the fight online, play as the Arbiter and even dual-wield. The story...
News Bungie CEO Denies Claims Surrounding Xbox Acquisition Talks (Again)
"Nope."
With Microsoft dropping $7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks recently, it feels like anything can happen. Which studio might they buy next? Well of course Bungie would be an obvious one. Going back to the glorious days of the OG Xbox with Halo, Microsoft have had a close working relationship with the...
Random Former Bungie Composer Shares A Look At Ultra-Rare 'Halo The Movies' DVD
Originally meant for employees only
Here's a cool little YouTube upload for Halo fans! Former Bungie composer Martin O'Donnell, who famously worked on the first few Halo games and the original Destiny, has unveiled this ultra-rare "Halo The Movies" DVD. The DVD was made 18 years ago in 2002, and is an internal Halo compilation intended only for...
News Bungie CEO Denies Claims Surrounding Xbox Acquisition Talks
"This is false"
Update: Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has now taken to Twitter to respond to these claims, simply stating "this is false" to a tweet about the rumour - despite Eurogamer also reporting earlier today that talks had taken place. Original story: Destiny 2 developer Bungie is bring
