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{{Infobox Company
{{Status|RealWorld}}
| company_name = Bungie
{{Infobox/Developer
| company_logo = [[Image:BungieLogo.png|150px|Bungie Studios logo]]
|name= Bungie, Inc.
| company_type = [[Video game developer]]
|image=[[File:Bungie logo.png|300px]]
| foundation = 1991
|founded= 1991
| location = [[Kirkland, Washington]], [[USA]]
|dissolved=
| key_people = [[Jason Jones (programmer)|Jason Jones]]<br /> [[Martin O'Donnell]]
|founder= *[[Jason Jones]]
| industry = [[Computer and video game industry]]
*[[Alexander Seropian]]
| products = [[Video games]]
|leader= [[Pete Parsons]]
| revenue =
|parent= *[[Microsoft]] {{C|former}}
| operating_income =  
*[[Wikipedia:Activision|Activision]] {{C|former}}
| net_income =  
*[[Wikipedia:Sony|Sony]]
| num_employees =
**[[Wikipedia:Playstation|Playstation]]
| homepage = http://www.bungie.com
|subsidiaries=
}}'''Bungie Studios''' is an [[United States|American]] [[video game developer]] founded in [[1991 in video gaming|1991]] under the name '''"Bungie Software Products Corporation"''' (more popularly shortened to just  "Bungie Software") by two [[undergraduate]] students at the [[University of Chicago]], [[Alex Seropian]] and [[Jason Jones (programmer)|Jason Jones]]. Today it is part of [[Microsoft]]'s [[Microsoft Game Studios|Game Studios]] since being acquired in [[2000]]. Bungie is known as the developers of the popular video game series ''[[Halo (video game series)|Halo]]'', ''[[Marathon (computer game series)|Marathon]]'', and ''[[Myth (computer game)|Myth]]''.
|headquarters= Bellevue, Washington, USA
|locations=
|website= [https://www.bungie.net/7/ www.bungie.net]
|halogames= *[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]
*[[Halo 2]]
*[[Halo 3]]
*[[Halo 3: ODST]]
*[[Halo: Reach]]
|othergames= *[[Marathon]]
*[[Wikipedia:Myth (video game series)|Myth]]
*[[Wikipedia:Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]
}}
{{Article quote|Per Audacia Ad Astra}}
 
'''Bungie, Inc.''' (formerly '''Bungie LLC''' and '''Bungie Software Products Corporation''' prior to its emancipation from [[Microsoft]]) is a video game developer founded in 1991 by Jason Jones and Alex Seropian.


==History==
==History==
Bungie's first "release" was ''[[Gnop!]]'', a clone of ''[[Pong]]'', which was distributed for free. This was followed by the tile combat game ''Operation Desert Storm''. For much of the [[1990s]] they developed a series of increasingly technically detailed [[first person shooter]] (FPS) games for the [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]]. Their first big break was 1993's ''[[Pathways Into Darkness]]'', the first true FPS for the Mac.
===Founding===
{{Quote|The culture of Bungie was pretty simple. It was just a bunch of college kids who wanted to drink beer and eat pizza and do amazing cool stuff in their basements.|[[Chris Butcher]]}}
For much of the 1990s they developed a series of increasingly technically detailed [[first-person shooter]] (FPS) games for the Macintosh, the most famous being the ''[[Marathon]]'' series, following this with the acclaimed ''[[wikipedia:Myth (computer game)|Myth]]'' tactical-combat series for both the Mac and [[Wikipedia:Microsoft Windows|Windows]]. Bungie games were particularly well-loved by players due to their complex back stories which often left more mysteries unexplained than revealed.


Bungie would then follow with the groundbreaking [[Marathon (computer game series)|Marathon]] series, which introduced a number of new concepts into the FPS genre. Marathon 2 was Bungie's first game that was released for Windows as well as Mac (though the Windows version was released a year later, in 1996). Many of the following titles would be dual platform as well, but Bungie was still considered a Macintosh publisher by many, producing some titles on the Macintosh platform first, or on Mac only.  
In 1997, Bungle Studios established Bungle West, a studio in California. However, the studio didn't last long and was shut down in 2000. Bungie West's only game was Oni.


Bungie's success gave rise to a large 3rd party developer community as well as a short lived newsletter published through BBS. Following the success of Marathon was Myth which created a new type of game featuring 3rd party combat and stressing unit management as opposed to the resource gathering model of other combat strategy titles. This spawned a large and active online community which is still active on playmyth.net.
===Creation of ''Halo'' series===
{{quote|Even through the Microsoft acquisition, Bungie’s purpose is not to make money for Microsoft and support the platform. Instead, Bungie’s purpose is to make great stuff like video games.|Chris Butcher<ref>[http://www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2007/01/inside_bungie.php '''Edge Online''': ''Inside Bungie'']</ref>}}
In 1999 they announced that their next product was a return to the FPS genre, with a world-beating physics and [[wikipedia:Artificial intelligence|AI]] system, to be known as [[Halo: Combat Evolved|''Halo'']] and to be released at the same time on both the Mac and also Windows. On June 19, 2000, Microsoft announced that they had acquired Bungie Software and that Bungie would become a part of the Microsoft Game Division (subsequently renamed Microsoft Game Studios) under the name Bungie Studios. The original versions were soon delayed and the game was re-purposed for the [[Xbox]], with the Mac and Windows versions only shipping two years later when it was no longer the renowned product it would have been in about late 2000. The Xbox version of ''Halo'' received the [[wikipedia:Game of the Year|Game of the Year]] and [[wikipedia:Console Game of the Year|Console Game of the Year]] awards for 2002 from the [[wikipedia:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences|Academy of Interactive Arts &amp; Sciences]], is known as a system seller and as of 2004 is still a videogame bestseller. ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' has been one of the most critically acclaimed games over the last three years, and its sequel ''[[Halo 2]]'' has been called the 'most anticipated game of all time' by [[Wikipedia:IGN|IGN]] Xbox.


Bungie was seen as a significant member of the Macintosh developer community in the 1990s. The mid-1990s, in particular, was a dire time for the Mac platform, with many rumors circulating about Apple's low sales, poor financial performance, and the impending death of the Macintosh platform in an industry dominated by Microsoft Windows. Bungie was one of the few publishers to develop primarily for the Mac platform during this time, rather than port PC-platform games, or not publish for Mac at all.  
===End of partnership===
{{Quote|Independence was the only thing that was going to be able to allow us to do what we wanted to do.|Pete Parsons}}
On October 5, 2007, Bungie and Microsoft announced an end to their partnership, effectively making Bungie an independent company once again, now titled Bungie LLC (limited liability corporation). The Halo Intellectual Property (IP) remains with Microsoft. Bungie employees have mentioned that there have been 'few noticeable changes' after the split.<ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/bungie_ms_split_pr.html '''halo.bungie.org''': ''Microsoft And Bungie Studios To Evolve Relationship'']</ref>


In [[1999]] they announced their next product, with a world-beating [[physics]] and [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] system, to be known as [[Halo: Combat Evolved|Halo]]. Significantly, Halo's public unveiling occurred at the [[Macworld Conference & Expo|Macworld Expo]] 1999 keynote address by Apple's then-interim-CEO [[Steve Jobs]] (after a closed-door screening at E3 in 1999). On [[June 19]], [[2000]], however, [[Microsoft]] announced that they had acquired Bungie Software and that Bungie would become a part of the [[Microsoft Game Division]] (subsequently renamed [[Microsoft Game Studios]]) under the name Bungie Studios. As a result, the original versions were soon delayed and the game was re-purposed for Microsoft's [[Xbox]], on which it became the console's [[killer game]]. Bungie's sale to Apple's long-time rival Microsoft was seen as a sort of ultimate betrayal by the Mac community at the time. Mac and Windows versions of Halo were delayed to two years later when it was no longer the renowned product it would have been in late [[2000]].
Their offices were originally based in Chicago, Illinois. After Microsoft's acquisition, they moved into the Microsoft Campus at Redmond, Washington. They have more recently moved to Kirkland, Washington.{{Citation needed}}


The Xbox version of ''[[Halo (video game series)|Halo]]'', which received the "Game of the Year" and "Console Game of the Year" awards for 2002 from the [[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]], is known as a [[killer game|system seller]] and as of [[2004]] is still a videogame bestseller. ''Halo'' has been one of the most critically acclaimed games over the last three years, and its sequel ''[[Halo 2]]'' has been called one of the "most anticipated game of all time" by [[IGN]]'s Xbox website. On release, Halo 2 proved to be a huge hit, making more than $125 million on release day.
===New partnership===
{{Quote|We are moving on. We're building something new, something totally different.|Eric Osbourne}}
On April 29, 2010, Bungie entered an exclusive 10-year partnership with Activision which will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices. Bungie will remain as an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property.<ref name="g4tv">[http://halo.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?cid=25920 '''Bungie.net''': ''NON FACETE NOBIS CALCITRARE VESTRUM PERINÆUM'']</ref> On [[2011|June 30, 2011]], Bungie announced "Bungie Aerospace", a platform to help small, independent mobile or social game developers launch their games.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/projects/aerospace/ '''Bungie.net''': ''Bungie Aerospace'']</ref> On [[2019|January 10, 2019]], Bungie announced that they had parted ways with Activision, with the intellectual property rights to the ''Destiny'' franchise transferring to Bungie.<ref>[https://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/47569 '''Bungie.net''': ''Our Destiny > News | Bungie.net'']</ref>


The company began life in a dormitory on the [[University of Chicago]], and subsequently moved off-campus to real offices in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Illinois]]. After Microsoft's acquisition, they moved into the [[Microsoft Campus]] at [[Redmond, Washington]]. Lack of space has prompted a move to [[Kirkland, Washington]], which has recently taken place.
===Purchase by Sony===
On [[2022|January 31, 2022]], Bungie was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment for $3.6 billion. Bungie intends to continue self-publishing cross-platform games.<ref>[https://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/50988 '''Bungie.net''': ''BUNGIE JOINS SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT  > News | Bungie.net'']</ref><ref>[https://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/50989 '''Bungie.net''': ''Destiny 2: Our Shared Vision > News | Bungie.net'']</ref>


While not directly behind the program, Bungie oversaw and 'signed off' on the [[Haunted Apiary]] puzzle, named after the address of the 'hacked' [http://www.ilovebees.com bee-keeping website] around which the game revolves and briefly appeared in the ''[[Halo 2]]'' [[Trailer (Movie)|theatrical trailer]]. They provided the Haunted Apiary designers with the "Halo Bible", allowing the story to fit to Bungie's specifics.
==Bungie Mythos==
[[File:Bungie - 7-step plan.jpg|thumb|150px|Bungie's 7-Step Plan for World Domination.]]
[[File:Pimps.jpg|thumb|150px|Bungie's fake pirate game ''Pimps at Sea''.]]
{{quote|Some of you may be wondering - "What's up with this unhealthy obsession with the number 7?"  [[Seven|This page]] offers some insights.|[[Luke Smith]]<ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?cid=14650 '''Bungie.net''': '' Bungie Day Tribute '']</ref>}}
Bungie, like many production companies, puts references to older games in newer games. Most well known of this is the connection between the ''Marathon'' universe and the ''[[Halo universe|Halo]]'' universe, which share a great deal of similar names and themes (see [[List of Marathon references in Halo]]).


On [[May 9]], [[2006]], Microsoft announced [[Halo 3]], Bungie's next installment in the Halo franchise, which will come to the Xbox 360 in 2007.
Another interesting fact about Bungie is their use of the number seven. Many of these are more obvious than others, including [[343 Guilty Spark]] (7 x 7 x 7 = 343), [[Marathon#The Pfhor|Pfhor]] Battle Group 7, and their official fan club, the 7th Column, but some of these are amusingly subtle: the Marathon colony ship was a hollowed out [[wikipedia:Deimos (moon)|Deimos]] - first discovered in 1877 and first photographed in 1977.


==Bungie mythos==
Bungie as a company has developed its own complex and diverse mythology in addition to that in their games. Several of these include:
*The [[Seven|7]]-[[7 Steps to World Domination|Steps Plan for World Domination]].
*The snack food [http://www.conagrafoods.com/brands/big_mama_sausage/index.jsp Tijuana Mama].
*The decapitated head of a dog named Ling-Ling (Step Five in the World Domination plan).
*The entity that resides in their server is named Disembodied Soul.
*The chronically drunk and aggressive webmaster of Bungie.net (Known for dressing as a gorilla with a floppy yellow cowboy hat, as well as disappearing for months on "HTML research missions" and answering the E-Mails of grammatically impaired fans).
*A cheap absorbent toy fish called the Soffish.
*The Cup, the prize at the Bungie Winter Pentathlon (A tradition has emerged that the losing team, out of envy, steals the cup rather than let the winning team touch it. In fact, several Bungie employees doubt the actual existence of The Cup, as it has been stolen and hidden so many times they have never laid eyes on it).
*[[Bungie Day]], a mock holiday Bungie created to celebrate the number seven.


Bungie, like many production companies, puts references to older games in newer games. Unlike others, many of these references hint or imply that a great deal of Bungie's games operate in similar or identical universes. Most well known of this is the connection between the Marathon universe and the Halo universe, which share a great deal of similar names and themes.  
==Offshoot companies==
 
Many of Bungie's employees have left the company to form their own studios. Double Aught was a short-lived company comprised of several former Bungie team members, founded by Greg Kirkpatrick. The company helped Bungie develop Marathon: Infinity, the last game in the Marathon series.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=juggernougat '''Bungie History''': ''The Juggernougat'']</ref>
While most believed that Bungie would never add a direct connection between these two games (just as they did not for Marathon and Pathways Into Darkness), it is interesting to note that the Haunted Apiary puzzle seems to have added a substantial connection between the Marathon universe and the Halo universe. [[Rampancy]] can happen to AIs in both universes. However, Bungie later stated that the Haunted Apiary was not directly written by them, although it was written using the Halo Story Bible, and its status as [[Canon (fiction)|canon]] is still in question. On Bungie's own website [http://www.bungie.net/ Bungie.net], Bungie also provides the following: "Q. Is Marathon the prequel to Halo?", "A. No, Marathon is a separate story, with wholly different characters, story and gameplay." On the other hand, Alexander Seropian has stated: "I don't think you ever find that out, but it's the same character." Fans of both games will always be speculating on this theory.


To note, the "Halo Story Bible" is the name given to a mythical single compendium in which is stored all available material which is considered canon for Bungie's Halo universe. The existence of any actual physical incarnation of the Halo Bible is questionable, as the actual content of Halo canon spans nearly a decade of development, during which time massive amounts of conceptual as well as functional materials were developed on a number of mediums. More properly, the Halo Story Bible refers to the characters, events, and other happenings of the Halo universe held to be canon by Bungie itself (regardless of whether the item has been documented on a physical source), and material which is not in the Halo Bible- while perhaps entertaining- is considered to have no relevance to the Halo universe.
Wideload Games, creator of Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse", is another company that came from Bungie; It is headed by one of the two Bungie founders, Alex Seropian, and 7 out of the 11 employees previously worked at Bungie. Other companies include Giant Bite, founded by Hamilton Chu (former lead producer of Bungie Studios), and Michal Evans (former Bungie programmer), and Certain Affinity. Founded by Max Hoberman (the multiplayer design lead for ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3''), the team of nine includes former Bungie employees David Bowman and Chad Armstrong (who later returned to Bungie) as well as folks from other developers. It collaborated with Bungie in releasing the last two maps for Halo 2.<ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=certainaffinitymaps '''Bungie.net''': ''New Halo 2 Maps Revealed!'']</ref>


Another interesting fact about Bungie is their use of the number seven. Many of these are more obvious than others, including [[343 Guilty Spark]] (7 x 7 x 7 = 343), 2401 Penitent Tangent (2+4+0+1=7 or 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 = 2401), [[Power of Seven]] (credited for the Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity opening songs, and most of [[Oni (computer game)|Oni]]'s soundtrack), Pfhor Battle Group 7, and their official fan club, the 7th Column, but some of these are amusingly subtle: the Marathon colony ship was a hollowed out [[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]] - first discovered in 1877 and first photographed in 1977. Also the fact that, in the Halo universe, there are seven Halos, scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy. Apart from seven, there are some other digits that appear very frequently in Bungie's games: 3 and 10 (and the lesser known 4). (Note how 7 + 3 = 10, 10 - 3 = 7, and 7 - 3 = 4.) These four digits are collectively called "Bungie Numbers" by the fans.
==Games==
===Released games===
[[File:Oni PC cover.jpg|thumb|The cover art of ''Oni''.]]
*''Gnop!'' (1990)
*''[[Wikipedia:Operation: Desert Storm (video game)|Operation: Desert Storm]]'' (1991)
*''[[Wikipedia:Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete|Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete]]'' (1992)
*''[[Wikipedia:Pathways into Darkness|Pathways into Darkness]]'' (1993)
*''[[Marathon#Marathon|Marathon]]'' (1994)
*''[[Marathon#Marathon 2: Durandal|Marathon 2: Durandal]]'' (1995)
*''[[Marathon#Super Marathon|Super Marathon]]'' (1996)
*''[[Wikipedia:Abuse (computer game)|Abuse]]'' (Macintosh port) (1996)
*''[[Marathon#Marathon Infinity|Marathon Infinity]]'' (1996)
*''[[Wikipedia:Weekend Warrior|Weekend Warrior]]'' (Publisher) (1997)
*''[[Wikipedia:Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]'' (1997)
*''[[Wikipedia:Myth II: Soulblighter|Myth II: Soulblighter]]'' (1998)
*''[[Wikipedia:Oni (video game)|Oni]]'' (2001)
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' (2001)
*''[[Halo 2]]'' (2004)
*''[[Halo 3]]'' (2007)
*''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'' (2009)
*''[[Halo: Reach]]'' (2010)
*''[[Wikipedia:Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]'' (2014)
*''[[Wikipedia:Destiny 2|Destiny 2]]'' (2017)
*''[https://marathongame.fandom.com/wiki/Marathon_(2025) Marathon]'' (2025)
*''[https://bungie.fandom.com/wiki/Gummy_Bears Gummy Bears]'' (TBA, transferred to new studio)


Bungie as a company has developed its own complex and diverse mythology in addition to that in their games. Several of these include their 7-Step Plan for World Domination, The Shaft, the snack food Tijuana Mama (containing "mechanically separated chicken, pork hearts, and protein concentrate", and "300% Hotter!"), the decapitated head of a dog named Ling-Ling (Step Five in the World Domination plan), the entity that resides in their server named Disembodied Soul, the chronically drunk and aggressive webmaster of Bungie.net (known for dressing as a gorilla with a floppy yellow cowboy hat, as well as disappearing for months on "HTML research missions" and answering the E-Mails of grammatically impaired fans), a cheap absorbent toy fish called the Soffish, and The Cup, the prize at the Bungie Winter Pentathlon (a tradition has emerged that the losing team, out of envy, steals the cup rather than let the winning team touch it. In fact, several Bungie employees doubt the actual existence of The Cup, as it has been stolen and hidden so many times they have never laid eyes on it).
===Cancelled projects===
*''[[Mosaic (cancelled Bungie project)|Mosaic]]'' (cancelled in early 1994)
*''[[Monster Hunter]]'' (cancelled in early 2002)
*''[[Phoenix (cancelled Bungie project)|Phoenix]]'' (cancelled in late 2002 or early 2003)
*''[[Gypsum]]'' (cancelled in June 2003)
*''[https://bungie.fandom.com/wiki/Matter Matter]'' (cancelled in late 2022)
*''[https://www.destinypedia.com/Payback_(game) Payback]'' (cancelled in June 2024)


==Offshoot companies==
==Bungie Employees==
{{Main
|1=Category:Bungie staff
|l1=List of Bungie Staff
}}
Notable Bungie employees include:
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
*[[Martin O'Donnell]] (former employee as of April 11, 2014)
*[[Jason Jones]]
*[[Robert McLees]]
*[[Marcus R. Lehto]] (former employee as of October 4, 2012)
*[[Pete Parsons]]
*[[Joseph Staten]] (former employee as of September 24, 2013)
*[[Frank O'Connor]] (former employee as of May 16, 2008)
{{col-2}}
[[File:Update cougarhuting.jpg|thumb|200px|Brian Jarrard and Frank O'Connor with a prop [[Sniper Rifle]] and [[Battle Rifle]].]]
*[[Shi Kai Wang]]
*[[Brian Jarrard]]
*[[Lars Bakken]]
*[[Joseph Tung]]
*[[Luke Smith]]
*[[CJ Cowan]]
*[[Chad Armstrong|Chad Armstrong ("Shishka")]] (former employee as of August 2010)
*[[Christopher Schlerf]] (since February 2016)
{{col-end}}


[[Double Aught]] was a short-lived company comprised of several former Bungie team members. They were best known for creating the [[Marathon Infinity|Infinity]] scenario ''Blood Tides of Lhowon'' and for the unreleased title Duality.
==Trivia==
*Over at Bungie.net, there is a forum [http://halo.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=25491975 thread] investigating 'Arete Seven', which is quite possibly Bungie's real name while Bungie is just their public name.
*Bungie employees have said that "Bungie" is a punchline to a really dirty joke as an excuse to get out of conversations before. At one time [[Alexander Seropian|Alex Seropian]] was quoted saying it's named Bungie because it sounded fun.<ref>[http://marathon.bungie.org/story/scrapbook.html '''Marathon.bungie.org''': ''The Marathon Scrapbook'']</ref>
*Bungie accepts resumes to the Bungie.net website via an email on the ''"Get Hired to Get Fire"'' page to work at the company and the [[Bungie Armor|flaming chestpiece]] is also given out to the new members.
*In [[Matchmaking]], Bungie employees feature the distinct Bungie logo beside their gamertags in order to distinguish themselves from the lowly "Bungie employee impersonators" in Pre-Game Lobbies.
*In the ''Halo'' universe, there is an engineering firm named [[Bungie Motor Works]].


[[Wideload Games]], creator of ''[[Stubbs the Zombie]]'', is another company that came from Bungie. It is led by one of the two Bungie founders, [[Alex Seropian]], and in fact 7 out of the 11 employees have previously worked at Bungie.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Septagon.png|Bungie's Septagon.
File:Bungie icon.png|Bungie's old application icon.
File:Old Bungie Logo.svg|The former Bungie Logo.
File:Peter Jackson at Bungie.jpg|The Bungie team, with [[Peter Jackson]].
File:Bungie crew circa Halo 2.jpg|The Bungie team, circa Halo 2.
File:BungieStaff.jpg|Bungie staff.
File:Img studio11.jpg|Bungie Towers from inside.
File:halo-bungie-net-shutdown.png|halo.bungie.net, an archive of the Halo-era Bungie website. It was shut down in 2021.
File:Bungie.net January 11 2013.png|Bungie.net homepage as of January 11, 2013
</gallery>


==External links==
==Sources==
* [http://www.bungie.net Official homepage]
{{Ref/Sources}}
* [http://www.bungie.net/Inside/CustomPage.aspx?section=History&subsection=Main&page=1 Inside Bungie: History]
* [http://www.bungie.net/stats/ Official Halo 2 Stats page]
* [http://www.bungie.net Bungie's multiplayer-gaming portal]
* [http://www.bungie.org Unofficial Bungie fan site]
* [http://highimpacthalo.org Halo tricks website]
* [http://source.bungie.org Aleph One website]
* [http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/01/18/0819252&mode=thread&tid=117 ''Marathon 2'' under the] [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]
* [http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/06/19/1326236&mode=thread&tid=127 Bungie bought by Microsoft]
* [http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2000/Jun00/BungiePR.asp Microsoft to Acquire Bungie Software press release]
* [http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/09/21/1549251&mode=thread&tid=109 Microsoft unhappy with Bungie's use of Linux on servers]
* [http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/02/09/023204&mode=thread&tid=127 Source code for ''Myth 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s server released]
* [http://trilogyrelease.bungie.org Download the Marathon Trilogy for free, with Bungie's blessings.]
* [http://trivia.bungie.org More Bungie trivia than you can shake a stick at.]
* [http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=130619 A developer's video tour of Bungie Studios.]
* [http://wiki.tru7h.co.uk/ The Bungie Tru7h wiki]
* [http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?story=newvideotour Frankie's tour of Bungie.]


{{Bungie Studios}}
==Related links==
{{Microsoft products}}
===Internal===
*[[Archive:Bungie With Teth|Bungie With Teeth]]
*[[halo.bungie.org]]


[[Category:Bungie Studios|*]]
===External===
[[Category:Microsoft subsidiaries]]
*[http://www.bungie.net Official Homepage]
[[Category:Computer and video game companies]]
*[http://halo.bungie.net Official archive of old site]
[[Category:First-party developers]]
*[[destinypedia:|Destinypedia, the wiki dedicated to Destiny]]
*[http://source.bungie.org/index.php/Main_Page '''Aleph One Wiki''': ''Bungie's Marathon Wiki'']
*[http://trilogyrelease.bungie.org Download the Marathon Trilogy for free, with Bungie's blessings.]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823014927/http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2589930,00.html Interview with Alex Seropian about Bungie's acquisition by Microsoft]


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[[Category:Companies]]
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Latest revision as of 16:50, October 30, 2024

Bungie, Inc.
Bungie logo.png
Company information

Date founded:

1991

Founder(s):

Leader(s):

Pete Parsons

Parent company:

Headquarters:

Bellevue, Washington, USA

Website:

www.bungie.net

Development information

Halo titles developed:

Other notable games:

 
“ Per Audacia Ad Astra ”

Bungie, Inc. (formerly Bungie LLC and Bungie Software Products Corporation prior to its emancipation from Microsoft) is a video game developer founded in 1991 by Jason Jones and Alex Seropian.

History[edit]

Founding[edit]

"The culture of Bungie was pretty simple. It was just a bunch of college kids who wanted to drink beer and eat pizza and do amazing cool stuff in their basements."
— Chris Butcher

For much of the 1990s they developed a series of increasingly technically detailed first-person shooter (FPS) games for the Macintosh, the most famous being the Marathon series, following this with the acclaimed Myth tactical-combat series for both the Mac and Windows. Bungie games were particularly well-loved by players due to their complex back stories which often left more mysteries unexplained than revealed.

In 1997, Bungle Studios established Bungle West, a studio in California. However, the studio didn't last long and was shut down in 2000. Bungie West's only game was Oni.

Creation of Halo series[edit]

"Even through the Microsoft acquisition, Bungie’s purpose is not to make money for Microsoft and support the platform. Instead, Bungie’s purpose is to make great stuff like video games."
— Chris Butcher[1]

In 1999 they announced that their next product was a return to the FPS genre, with a world-beating physics and AI system, to be known as Halo and to be released at the same time on both the Mac and also Windows. On June 19, 2000, Microsoft announced that they had acquired Bungie Software and that Bungie would become a part of the Microsoft Game Division (subsequently renamed Microsoft Game Studios) under the name Bungie Studios. The original versions were soon delayed and the game was re-purposed for the Xbox, with the Mac and Windows versions only shipping two years later when it was no longer the renowned product it would have been in about late 2000. The Xbox version of Halo received the Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year awards for 2002 from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, is known as a system seller and as of 2004 is still a videogame bestseller. Halo: Combat Evolved has been one of the most critically acclaimed games over the last three years, and its sequel Halo 2 has been called the 'most anticipated game of all time' by IGN Xbox.

End of partnership[edit]

"Independence was the only thing that was going to be able to allow us to do what we wanted to do."
— Pete Parsons

On October 5, 2007, Bungie and Microsoft announced an end to their partnership, effectively making Bungie an independent company once again, now titled Bungie LLC (limited liability corporation). The Halo Intellectual Property (IP) remains with Microsoft. Bungie employees have mentioned that there have been 'few noticeable changes' after the split.[2]

Their offices were originally based in Chicago, Illinois. After Microsoft's acquisition, they moved into the Microsoft Campus at Redmond, Washington. They have more recently moved to Kirkland, Washington.[citation needed]

New partnership[edit]

"We are moving on. We're building something new, something totally different."
— Eric Osbourne

On April 29, 2010, Bungie entered an exclusive 10-year partnership with Activision which will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices. Bungie will remain as an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property.[3] On June 30, 2011, Bungie announced "Bungie Aerospace", a platform to help small, independent mobile or social game developers launch their games.[4] On January 10, 2019, Bungie announced that they had parted ways with Activision, with the intellectual property rights to the Destiny franchise transferring to Bungie.[5]

Purchase by Sony[edit]

On January 31, 2022, Bungie was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment for $3.6 billion. Bungie intends to continue self-publishing cross-platform games.[6][7]

Bungie Mythos[edit]

How Bungie plans to take over the world.
Bungie's 7-Step Plan for World Domination.
Bungie's fake pirate game Pimps at Sea.

"Some of you may be wondering - "What's up with this unhealthy obsession with the number 7?" This page offers some insights."
— Luke Smith[8]

Bungie, like many production companies, puts references to older games in newer games. Most well known of this is the connection between the Marathon universe and the Halo universe, which share a great deal of similar names and themes (see List of Marathon references in Halo).

Another interesting fact about Bungie is their use of the number seven. Many of these are more obvious than others, including 343 Guilty Spark (7 x 7 x 7 = 343), Pfhor Battle Group 7, and their official fan club, the 7th Column, but some of these are amusingly subtle: the Marathon colony ship was a hollowed out Deimos - first discovered in 1877 and first photographed in 1977.

Bungie as a company has developed its own complex and diverse mythology in addition to that in their games. Several of these include:

  • The 7-Steps Plan for World Domination.
  • The snack food Tijuana Mama.
  • The decapitated head of a dog named Ling-Ling (Step Five in the World Domination plan).
  • The entity that resides in their server is named Disembodied Soul.
  • The chronically drunk and aggressive webmaster of Bungie.net (Known for dressing as a gorilla with a floppy yellow cowboy hat, as well as disappearing for months on "HTML research missions" and answering the E-Mails of grammatically impaired fans).
  • A cheap absorbent toy fish called the Soffish.
  • The Cup, the prize at the Bungie Winter Pentathlon (A tradition has emerged that the losing team, out of envy, steals the cup rather than let the winning team touch it. In fact, several Bungie employees doubt the actual existence of The Cup, as it has been stolen and hidden so many times they have never laid eyes on it).
  • Bungie Day, a mock holiday Bungie created to celebrate the number seven.

Offshoot companies[edit]

Many of Bungie's employees have left the company to form their own studios. Double Aught was a short-lived company comprised of several former Bungie team members, founded by Greg Kirkpatrick. The company helped Bungie develop Marathon: Infinity, the last game in the Marathon series.[9]

Wideload Games, creator of Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse", is another company that came from Bungie; It is headed by one of the two Bungie founders, Alex Seropian, and 7 out of the 11 employees previously worked at Bungie. Other companies include Giant Bite, founded by Hamilton Chu (former lead producer of Bungie Studios), and Michal Evans (former Bungie programmer), and Certain Affinity. Founded by Max Hoberman (the multiplayer design lead for Halo 2 and Halo 3), the team of nine includes former Bungie employees David Bowman and Chad Armstrong (who later returned to Bungie) as well as folks from other developers. It collaborated with Bungie in releasing the last two maps for Halo 2.[10]

Games[edit]

Released games[edit]

The cover art of Oni.

Cancelled projects[edit]

Bungie Employees[edit]

Main article: List of Bungie Staff

Notable Bungie employees include:

Several Bungie studios employees (including Brian Jarrard and Frank O'Connor) wielding the WETA Workshop prop weapons.
Brian Jarrard and Frank O'Connor with a prop Sniper Rifle and Battle Rifle.

Trivia[edit]

  • Over at Bungie.net, there is a forum thread investigating 'Arete Seven', which is quite possibly Bungie's real name while Bungie is just their public name.
  • Bungie employees have said that "Bungie" is a punchline to a really dirty joke as an excuse to get out of conversations before. At one time Alex Seropian was quoted saying it's named Bungie because it sounded fun.[11]
  • Bungie accepts resumes to the Bungie.net website via an email on the "Get Hired to Get Fire" page to work at the company and the flaming chestpiece is also given out to the new members.
  • In Matchmaking, Bungie employees feature the distinct Bungie logo beside their gamertags in order to distinguish themselves from the lowly "Bungie employee impersonators" in Pre-Game Lobbies.
  • In the Halo universe, there is an engineering firm named Bungie Motor Works.

Gallery[edit]

  • Bungie's Septagon.

    Bungie's Septagon.

  • Bungie's old application icon.

    Bungie's old application icon.

  • The former Bungie Logo.

    The former Bungie Logo.

  • The Bungie team, with Peter Jackson.

    The Bungie team, with Peter Jackson.

  • The Bungie team, circa Halo 2.

    The Bungie team, circa Halo 2.

  • Bungie staff.

    Bungie staff.

  • Bungie Towers from inside.

    Bungie Towers from inside.

  • halo.bungie.net, an archive of the Halo-era Bungie website. It was shut down in 2021.

    halo.bungie.net, an archive of the Halo-era Bungie website. It was shut down in 2021.

  • Bungie.net homepage as of January 11, 2013

    Bungie.net homepage as of January 11, 2013

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Edge Online: Inside Bungie
  2. ^ halo.bungie.org: Microsoft And Bungie Studios To Evolve Relationship
  3. ^ Bungie.net: NON FACETE NOBIS CALCITRARE VESTRUM PERINÆUM
  4. ^ Bungie.net: Bungie Aerospace
  5. ^ Bungie.net: Our Destiny > News | Bungie.net
  6. ^ Bungie.net: BUNGIE JOINS SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT > News | Bungie.net
  7. ^ Bungie.net: Destiny 2: Our Shared Vision > News | Bungie.net
  8. ^ Bungie.net: Bungie Day Tribute
  9. ^ Bungie History: The Juggernougat
  10. ^ Bungie.net: New Halo 2 Maps Revealed!
  11. ^ Marathon.bungie.org: The Marathon Scrapbook

Related links[edit]

Internal[edit]

External[edit]

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