Bungie escapes partnership with Activision, retains rights to Destiny

Activision and Bungie partnered on Destiny in 2010, and with Destiny 2, that partnership continued. However, the two are parting ways now. A few months ago, Activision said that Destiny 2 was a sales disappointment and the company was reevaluating how to proceed from there. It seems like this was the best solution the two parties could come up with.

Bungie issued the following statement on its website today. Luckily, the developer will retain rights to the Destiny franchise going forward. Activision won't have any part with it in the future, and Bungie can make all the decisions revolving around expansions and monetization going forward.

When we first launched our partnership with Activision in 2010, the gaming industry was in a pretty different place. As an independent studio setting out to build a brand new experience, we wanted a partner willing to take a big leap of faith with us. We had a vision for Destiny that we believed in, but to launch a game of that magnitude, we needed the support of an established publishing partner. With Activision, we created something special. To date, Destiny has delivered a combination of over fifty million games and expansions to players all around the world... We have enjoyed a successful eight-year run and would like to thank Activision for their partnership on Destiny. Looking ahead, we're excited to announce plans for Activision to transfer publishing rights for Destiny to Bungie. With our remarkable Destiny community, we are ready to publish on our own... The planned transition process is already underway in its early stages, with Bungie and Activision both committed to making sure the handoff is as seamless as possible. With Forsaken, we've learned, and listened, and leaned in to what we believe our players want from a great Destiny experience. Rest assured there is more of that on the way. We'll continue to deliver on the existing Destiny roadmap, and we're looking forward to releasing more seasonal experiences in the coming months, as well as surprising our community with some exciting announcements about what lies beyond. Thank you so much for your continued support. Our success is owed in no small part to the incredible community of players who have graced our worlds with light and life. We know self-publishing won't be easy; there's still much for us to learn as we grow as an independent, global studio, but we see unbounded opportunities and potential in Destiny.

Hopefully Destiny 2 — and Destiny 3 — will become incredible games that don't lock content behind paywalls following this split. However, only time will tell. Whenever a studio is able to reclaim rights to its franchises, great feats usually follow. Bungie also confirmed that content delivery won't be affected and you can still expect the Forsaken expansion to receive steady updates.

See more

Lastly, Blizzard's Battle.net will still feature Destiny 2 on its platform. There won't be any disruption to users.

See more

What are your thoughts on this? Will you give Destiny 2 a chance now? Let us know.

Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.