Bungie has confirmed that it will be relinquishing the last elements of control it holds over the Halo franchise on March 31.
"Last summer, Bungie and 343 Industries began a transition process for Halo data. On March 31st, 2012 that transition process will be complete, all live Halo data will be managed by 343 Industries, and Bungie will no longer be able to update game stats and player service records, to host new user generated content, or to operate the Bungie Pro service.
"All currently supported, Bungie-developed Halo titles will be impacted by this change. Any replacement functionality, and all future Halo support, will be provided by Microsoft and 343 Industries via Halo Waypoint at http://halo.xbox.com."
According to Bungie it will hold on to "historical Halo data on Bungie.net for as long as the Internet and Bungie's data storage systems remain functional."
It ended the following thank you to fans: "Thanks for making the Halo-era version of Bungie.net more successful than we could have possibly imagined. You complete us. See you starside."
Microsoft has warned consumers that any websites claiming to be offering access to a Halo 4 beta are fakes.
Comments
9 comments so far...
svd_grasshopper on 1 Feb '12 said:
seems like they can't let go. that's their fault for selling their IP to microsoft.
they aren't with MS any more, they should be working for their new publisher now, not wasting time on trivial stuff like this in an attempt to still be connected to halo... especially when main dev duties are handed over, it's gone. accept it.
StonecoldMC on 1 Feb '12 said:
Harsh grasshopper.
Bungie was their Baby, of course it would be difficult to just give it up, and besides all they are doing is providing a service to the fans of the Game, so cut them some slack. Im sure there not devoting 98% of there time to running Bungie.net
svd_grasshopper on 1 Feb '12 said:
surprised activison are letting them do anything on their clock, supporting what will essentially be a rival.
SuperMike861 on 1 Feb '12 said:
They've accepted it, the reason they split from MS in the first place is because they didn't want to be stuck making Halo lol. They're still in the middle of handing all responsibility for Halo to 343 Industries. So it makes sense to run some services as long as they have, at least they care. It's not like it takes a lot to run the services they have been anyway. Halo Reach only came out 15 months ago as well. If they were still running this stuff 2-3 years from now I could understand where you're coming from, but as it stands, you're wrong.
Madbrit2K5 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Sad to see them letting go of the Halo franchise but can understand why.
Just hope they have the ability to come up with something new and successful, and don't go the same way as Bizarre Creations! Still sucks they went bust
svd_grasshopper on 1 Feb '12 said:
i'm wrong?!
no. they are done with halo. it's not theirs. they have no obligation. they are signed to a new publisher.
they are hanging around like a bad smell because they are regretting their decision. their next game is gonna bomb, and someone else will be taking the glory for the next halo.
'Bungie gives date for halo handover completion' WTF is all this fanfare?! who cares - and who does this information benefit? get out of the limelight, the game is 343's.
SuperMike861 on 1 Feb '12 said:
Yes, you're wrong, and funny too. You're basically having a go at a developer for continuing to support their own products. While they don't own Halo any more, they still made them. This has always been the plan, when the handover started last year, it was always going to be a gradual process, and it's going to take less than a year to complete.
They're not "hanging around like a bad smell", how can the creators of Halo hang around like a bad smell anyway? They aren't involved in developing the next Halo, nor are they running Halo 3/Reach servers. What they're currently handing over to 343 is not of much importance, which is why they're still in control of it. This is news because they are the creators of Halo, and the passing of the torch of a big franchise is news, whether you happen to think it is or not. Also, why comment if you don't think it's news?
Dazzaroonie on 1 Feb '12 said:
You must have read the T&C's of the Bungie-343 handover firsthand, since you seem to know so much about what Bungie's 'obligations' are. It seems perfectly reasonable to me to assume both parties would want the transition to be as smooth as possible, rather than Bungie simply dumping everything on 343 in one go.
Fanfare? Hardly. Bungie have always been active in connecting with their community via blog updates.
porkchopz on 2 Feb '12 said:
I will be curious to see where the series goes from here.
I reckon they'll hedge their bets (like they eased themselves in with the remake) and will just try and release a "solid" Halo game rather than innovate. I don't hear many fans clamouring for a change and tbh I'm not sure 343 will try that path in these early days.
Personally, I would hate to see it become further convoluted but then again the fans seem to like the same old formula so I guess everybody will be happy.