Bungie, the developer behind the Halo franchise has announced they have signed an exclusive 10 year pact with Activision that will bring the developer’s “next big action game universe to market.”
For the next decade Activision will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute future Bungie games “based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices.”
Financials of the deal were not disclosed.
Bungie formally had an exclusive partnership with Microsoft, but the two split in 2007.
“We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise,” adds Bungie President Harold Ryan. “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 Halo franchise has so far brought in $1.5 billion in revenue, and Bungie has sold over 25 million units worldwide.
“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,” says Thomas Tippl, Chief Operating Officer 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.”
Result for: activision
The huge launch of Modern Warfare 2 has helped the popular Call of Duty franchise to reach a new milestone, passing the $3 billion USD revenue mark, says publisher Activision.
Overall, the six CoD titles have sold 55 million units with Modern Warfare 2 crushing recent entertainment launch records by taking in $550 million USD in its first five days of availability.
In just its first day, the game sold 4.7 million units in the US and UK markets. The new milestone has Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick calling the franchise one of the “greatest entertainment franchises of all time.”
“If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history,” he continued..
Result for: activision
The blockbuster Modern Warfare 2 has crushed all previous entertainment sales records, with a five-day $550 million USD launch, making it the biggest in history.
The game beat out all previous five-day records for the entertainment industry, including videogames, movies and books.
MW2 surpassed Grand Theft Auto IV, which had sales totaling $500 million. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed $394 million in its five-day launch, making it the best movie launch of all time.
“In just five days of sell through, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has become the largest entertainment launch in history and a pop culture phenomenon,” added Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. “The title’s success redefines entertainment as million of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media.”
