Bungie, the game developer behind the massively popular first-person shooter franchise Destiny, parts ways with Activision Blizzard, ending a 10-year contract that was signed in 2010.
On Jan. 10, Thursday, Bungie announced that it now owns full publishing rights and responsibilities of the franchise.
In its official blog, the developer said the transition process has already started. Details on how this decision will affect Destiny 2 are unknown yet, but according to Bungie, its future plans will still hold. Activision Blizzard has also issued a statement regarding the transition.
"Activision and Bungie are committed to a seamless transition for the Destiny franchise and will continue to work closely together during the transition on behalf of the community of Destiny players around the world," Activision stated.
Past Development Issues
Reports cited past development issues with the franchise, specifically the alleged reboot of Destiny 2. Last year, news began to surface, indicating that the release of the "Forsaken" expansion may have spoiled the relationship between Bungie and Activision Blizzard.
While Destiny gamers were more enthusiastic about "Forsaken" than the main game, Activision, in a public statement, has referred to the expansion as a "commercial disappointment."
Luke Smith, the game director, responded to the publisher's statement on Twitter, saying that the Bungie team wasn't disappointed with "Forsaken."
"We set out to build a game that Destiny players would love, and at Bungie, we love it too. Building Destiny for players who love it is and will remain our focus going forward," Smith tweeted.
Full Commitment To 'Destiny' Franchise
In its official statement, Bungie mentioned that with "Forsaken," the development team learned, listened, and is inclined to what the players long for in a Destiny game. The game developer also reassured fans of incoming seasonal releases, surprises, and exciting news on its future plans.
In 2018, NetEase invested in Bungie a whopping $100 million in funding, which will be used to finance new projects. The game develope, however, reiterated full commitment to the Destiny franchise, adding that it will "grow for many years to come."
Investors' Chagrin
It appears that Bungie's decision to split from Activision would mean the latter's loss of a revenue stream, much to the investors' chagrin. While "Forsaken" may have failed to meet sales expectation, Destiny is still a huge franchise to lose.
Gamespot notes that after the news of the split had been made public, the Activision Blizzard's stock price nosedived. On Thursday, it saw a 7 percent drop, closing at $51.35 a share. It further plummeted to $44.67 on Friday morning, but it later bounced back to $45.92, which is still down by 10.56 percent.
