Why did Bungie stop making Halo? (2024)

By: Hannah Townsend - Updated:

Sometimes it's time to take a different path.

Why did Bungie stop making Halo? (1)

Image via Bungie

Bungie is a well-known company, and whenever you ask anybody about them, you are most likely going to hear the name Halo come up in response. However, Bungie has not been associated with Halo for a while now, so what exactly happened?

A common misconception is that Bungie owned Halo in its entirety when the truth is that it was always Microsoft's game. Bungie was contracted to make the series, but it meant that they could not pursue other gaming ventures and that Microsoft always had the final say on their work.

Bungie's contract with Microsoft came to a close in 2007, and after creating one of the best launch titles ever seen on console and its sequels, they decided that it was time to call it a day with Halo.

Related: Will Destiny 2 become a PlayStation exclusive game?

Bungie had wished to create something new for a while but had to finish their contract with the Halo series. Until they were free of Halo, they could not work on anything that could be a potential competitor as Halo was to be their primary and sole focus.

This is how Destiny came to be. As soon as Bungie was free of Microsoft they were able to create the game they had been envisioning for years. Destiny ended up having features that would remind players of Halo but Destiny is unique in its own way.

Bungie may have made the first few Halo games into fantastic examples of what early 2000s gaming could accomplish, but it was never theirs to fully own. Now, they are thriving with their own IP that has a large number of unique players that are very loyal to it.

Looking for more content? Why not check out how much Bungie is worth?

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About the Author

Hi there! I'm Hannah and I am a guide and news journalist for PGG. My gaming adventures started back in '98 and I have been an avid gamer ever since. You will usually find me playing the likes of The Last of Us, Days Gone (I like zombies), the GTA Series and The Sims to name a few!

Why did Bungie stop making Halo?

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Why did Bungie stop making Halo? (2024)

FAQs

Why doesn't Bungie make Halo anymore? ›

Bungie stepped away from Halo and its publisher, Microsoft, in 2007, in order to push forward in the industry rather than be tied to a franchise that had found success at the start of the century, according to community manager David "DeeJ" Dague.

Will Bungie ever get Halo back? ›

They wanted to work on something else. Microsoft effectively would not let them separate themselves from MS with Halo, so to separate they made a deal with MS - sell Halo and they could do what they wanted. They even made a literal declaration of independence. Bungie is not coming back, and never will, and never could.

Was Bungie forced to make Halo Reach? ›

The developers originally intended to port existing Halo 3 assets to Reach and update them. For Halo 3, Bungie had been forced to shrink parts of the game to fit the game engine's constraints, but wanted to make Reach look better than its predecessors.

How did Bungie lose the rights to Halo? ›

Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000, and its signature title, Halo, helped turn Microsoft's Xbox console into a major game platform. But the developer split from Microsoft in 2007 and stopped making Halo three years later. Since 2011, Halo has been developed by 343 Industries, a company owned by Microsoft.

Did 343 ruin Halo? ›

343 Industries has shepherded the Halo series for over ten years. Despite its great start with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the studio has failed to return the franchise to its original glory. Everything shared here illustrates 343's mismanagement of Xbox's once-flagship franchise.

Who took over Halo after Bungie? ›

Following Bungie's completion of their last Halo title, Halo: Reach, 343 Industries was eventually given complete control of the Halo franchise including servers and data on March 31, 2012. The studio's development of Halo 4, which began in 2009, was completed in September.

Why would Bungie sell Halo? ›

They decided they'd had enough after Reach and left. The mantle rests with 343 Industries now, and anyone that wanted to make a halo would have to work for or with them. What does the original team from Bungie Software that created Marathon and Halo think of Destiny?

Will Halo continue after infinite? ›

343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.” 343 Industries has announced that they'll continue to develop future Halo games and content.

Why Bungie sold Halo? ›

Bungie wanted to be an independent company. Since Microsoft owned Halo, Bungie had to give it up in order to achieve that goal. Therefore, 343 Industries was created to continue the game.

Did Bungie sell the rights to Halo? ›

Bungie began work on the original Halo in 1997, but Microsoft purchased the studio while the game was still in development, acquiring the IP in the process. When Bungie split from Microsoft in 2007, Microsoft retained rights to Halo, creating the in-house studio 343 Industries to take over its blockbuster franchise.

How old is the Master Chief in Halo? ›

11 Halo: Master Chief (Age 41, Height 7'2'', Born March 7) John-117, or otherwise known as Master Chief, is the most well-known Spartan-II to ever live. Saving the human race not once but twice, John is a decorated war veteran for his consistent courage and immense skill.

Who owns the rights to Halo? ›

Halo is a military science fiction media franchise, originally created and developed by Bungie and currently managed and developed by 343 Industries, part of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios. The series launched in 2001 with the first-person shooter video game Halo: Combat Evolved and its tie-in novel, The Fall of Reach.

Why does Bungie like the number 7? ›

Bungie's obsession with the number seven may be attributed to 7 being considered a lucky number in Western culture. In spite of the fact that the number seven is featured extensively in Bungie's work, it has generated an aura of apophenia. This cultural nuance can be compared to the 23 enigma.

What did Bungie think of Halo Wars? ›

"We've done a lot of talking with Ensemble guys, and we're all really excited about Halo Wars, because from everything we've seen so far it's a very cool, faithful adaptation... Everything we've seen has been very, very encouraging - we're very excited about it," Isla said at the time.

Why does 343 still have Halo? ›

343 has released a terse statement reinforcing the notion that it's still making Halo for Microsoft, after mass layoffs hit the company as part of a broader reduction of 10,000 employees at the megacorp: "Halo and Master Chief are here to stay.

What company ruined Halo? ›

343 Industries - Wikipedia

in 2007 after long-time Halo developer Bungie announced it was splitting from the company.

Is the Covenant in Halo bad? ›

The Covenant are a memorable enemy within the Halo franchise. Composed of various aliens races, there is much to know about this cult. The Covenant, from the Halo series, is one of the best villain factions in any video game ever.

How many rings have been destroyed in Halo? ›

11 of the original 12 rings were destroyed, majority in the battle of the Forerunner Capital. For instance, the Omega Halo was destroyed when the Flood attacked the Greater Ark.

How much did Halo sell for? ›

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a deal to acquire Bungie, the developer behind game franchises including “Halo” and “Destiny,” for $3.6 billion.

How much is the Halo franchise worth? ›

According to former 343 Industries creative director Frank O'Conor, the Halo franchise is worth around $6 billion across games and other media including TV shows.

Did Bungie help with Halo 4? ›

Development of Halo 4 began in 2009 and continued until September 2012. Halo 4 is 343 Industries' first original title within the Halo series—previously, development of the main series was undertaken by Bungie, the creator of the franchise.

Who owns Bungie now? ›

Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington, and a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones's game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete.

Does Sony own Halo now? ›

While Bungie was a part of Microsoft back in the 2000s, after it split, Halo became a part of Microsoft. That means that Microsoft still owns the rights and will continue to hold the rights of Halo.

Is it hard to get a job at Bungie? ›

Is it hard to get hired at Bungie? Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at Bungie as 56.3% positive with a difficulty rating score of 3.38 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty).

Is Noble 6 still alive? ›

@Emek500 Yes, the Noble 6 character is dead.

Is atriox alive? ›

Believed to have died during the Battle for Zeta Halo, Atriox later resurfaced and discovered the Endless cylixes in 2560. Atriox serves as the namesake for several positions in his Banished such as Atriox's Chosen and the Hand of Atriox, a rank of enforcers and a special operations unit respectively.

Will Halo Infinite get a DLC? ›

Halo Infinite Won't Get Story DLC, Series Switching To Unreal.

Did Microsoft lose Halo? ›

Microsoft Layoffs Include Gaming Units Behind Halo, Starfield - Bloomberg.

Why did Microsoft let Bungie go? ›

Bungie Split from Microsoft due to internal conflict within the company. They wanted to move on from halo, and felt that Microsoft would leave it in good hands. They also felt that they improved from a small studio, and now had the resources to go and make it on their own without the support of anot...

Did Bungie help with Halo Infinite? ›

Both Bungie and 343 worked together with Xbox Game Studios in creating Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which is a collection of the main Halo games up to Guardians. Even though they now own the original creator of the Halo series, Sony will not own Halo Infinite because Bungie didn't make it.

What about Halo did Sony buy Bungie for? ›

After Microsoft dropped a big bag on Activision, Sony decided to buy Bungie video game studio for $3.6 billion. The independent studio developed Destiny, the famous online FPS (first-person shooter) and the iconic Halo series, which fuelled Xbox's growth.

Who owns God of War? ›

God of War (franchise)
God of War
Developer(s)Primary Santa Monica Studio Ready at Dawn Javaground/SOE-LA Ports Bluepoint Games Ready at Dawn Sanzaru Games Wholesale Algorithms Jetpack Interactive
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Pictures Digital
Creator(s)David Jaffe
Artist(s)Charlie Wen
6 more rows

Can you get Halo on ps5? ›

HALO : PlayStation 5 : Target.

Is Master Chief asexual Halo? ›

In the original Halo games, Master Chief is very much an asexual character. He never shows interest in any other character in such a way, it's just not a part of who he is. But in the most recent episode of the Halo TV show, Master Chief had sex, a surprising moment for many considering his established character.

Who is Spartan 001? ›

Peter Walters (Spartan -001)

Who was the tallest Spartan? ›

Samuel was notably the tallest and strongest of the Spartan-IIs at the time of his death, and often acted as the second-in-command of Blue Team in its formative years.

Is Bungie still owned by Microsoft? ›

Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000, and their then-current project, the first-person shooter Halo: Combat Evolved, was repurposed into a launch title for Microsoft's new Xbox console. Halo went on to become the Xbox's "killer application", selling millions of copies and spawning a billion dollar franchise.

Does Marvel own Halo? ›

The Halo Graphic Novel is a graphic novel anthology of the military science fiction video game series Halo, published by Marvel Comics in partnership with Bungie.

What does Halo stand for? ›

HALO is an acronym for “high altitude, low opening.” That means that military special forces teams will jump out at a high altitude (generally 30 to 40 thousand feet), and they'll freefall to a much lower altitude (as low as about 800 feet above the ground) before they deploy their parachutes.

Is there a Cayde 7? ›

There will be no Cayde-7, even if Cayde is somehow brought back. > Destiny 2 - Lore | Forums | Bungie.net.

What is baboon Bungie code? ›

This error can be due to packet loss or disconnections between your home network and Bungie (such as ISP saturation or general internet congestion). It can even be caused by certain WiFi setups, or mobile hotspots that may have experienced a blip or loss of connection.

Who from Bungie went to 343? ›

In 2008, former Bungie employee Frank O'Connor (Frankie) was named to head up 343i, leaving Bungie and taking the title of "Franchise Director" for 343i, overseeing all projects.

What did the banished want with Halo? ›

Upon investigating the surface of the transit, they discover Atriox, a rebel Covenant member who is leading a new group known as the Banished. The group's goal is to control the transit hardware on which they all are currently stationed.

Was Destiny meant to be Halo? ›

It basically feels like Bungie had a complete timeline written for Halo and was developing it into what would become Destiny. Bungie broke off from Microsoft and retooled that version of Halo to be what we are now playing in Destiny.

What did Bungie do for Halo? ›

Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000; its then-current project was repurposed into a launch title for Microsoft's new Xbox console, called Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo went on to become the Xbox's "killer application", selling millions of copies and spawning a billion dollar franchise.

How tall is the Master Chief? ›

The Master Chief stands about 7 feet (2.13 m) tall and weighs 1,000 pounds (450 kg) in armor; without it, he stands 6 feet, 10 inches (2.08 m) tall and weighs 287 pounds (130 kg).

Is Halo getting rebooted? ›

Microsoft Corp. says it's going to keep making new games in the popular Halo franchise at its prized 343 Industries studio — despite rumors to the contrary. But after a leadership overhaul, mass layoffs and a host of big changes, the outfit is all but starting from scratch.

How many 343 employees were laid off? ›

Chou commented that over 60 employees were laid off from the studio, with Bloomberg reporting that the developer's campaign team was affected significantly.

Why did Bungie sell Halo? ›

Why did Bungie sell Halo to 343 Industries? Bungie wanted to be an independent company. Since Microsoft owned Halo, Bungie had to give it up in order to achieve that goal. Therefore, 343 Industries was created to continue the game.

Are they going to make anymore Halo games? ›

"343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great."

Why did Bungie stop making Halo reddit? ›

Bungie left Microsoft because Microsoft just wanted to milk Halo for all it's worth, while Bungie never wanted Halo to go beyond one game. To some degree, you can't blame Microsoft for that. Halo was their first big title and it put them on the map.

Which Halo game made the most money? ›

Which Halo has made the most money?
  • Halo 3 Rings In At Over $300 Million Worldwide.
  • “Halo 3” Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History with USD$170 Million in Sales.

What did Bungie do after Halo? ›

Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000, and its project Halo: Combat Evolved was repurposed as a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox console.

Is PlayStation getting Halo? ›

The short answer is: No. Yes, Bungie did develop Halo, but Microsoft bought Bungie and owns the intellectual property to the Halo franchise. So, while Sony bought the manpower behind Halo, they didn't buy the Halo name. That means that we will not see Halo on the PlayStation.

Will Halo Infinite be the last Halo? ›

Despite rumors claiming otherwise, 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo games following Halo Infinite.

Why did Microsoft let go of Bungie? ›

Bungie Split from Microsoft due to internal conflict within the company. They wanted to move on from halo, and felt that Microsoft would leave it in good hands. They also felt that they improved from a small studio, and now had the resources to go and make it on their own without the support of anot...

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