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Bungie signs 10-year Activision deal

Former Microsoft studio hands publisher all rights to bring its games to market for a decade

Bungie, the former Microsoft development studio responsible for the Halo trilogy of games, has announced a decade-long deal with Activision, which will see the publisher take charge of bringing its games to market across multiple platforms.

The developer is working on new intellectual property, and will retain the rights to that IP under the terms of the deal - which was nine months in the making.

"We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise," said Harold Ryan, president of Bungie. "From working together over the past nine months on this agreement, it is clear that Activision supports our commitment to giving our fans the best possible gaming experiences."

The move comes at an interesting time for the world's largest videogames publisher, which saw its president and CEO Mike Griffith resign last week amid the ongoing messy - and very public - implosion of its Infinity Ward studio.

The announcement of the deal with Bungie, however, couldn't have come at a better time for Activision, and will be seen by many as a direct reaction to the steady departure of many senior figures from the Call of Duty team - despite discussions having gone on for some time.

Bungie's games, including Halo, Myth and Marathon, have sold over 25 million units in their time, with the first of those franchises netting some $1.5 billion in revenues on the Xbox and Xbox 360 platforms.

"Bungie is one of the premier studios in our industry and we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with their talented team over the next decade," added Thomas Tippl, COO of Activision Blizzard. "Bungie has developed some of the most compelling and successful games, multiplayer experiences and thriving fan communities, and this alliance underscores our long-standing commitment to foster the industry's best creative talent.

"Our unprecedented partnership with Bungie will enable us to broaden our pipeline of exciting new games as we continue to strengthen our industry position and pursue long-term growth opportunities."

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Phil Elliott

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