Following the announcement, Bungie made available on its web site a letter to its fans, as well as their own FAQ on the buyout.
Those files are no longer available on the official Bungie site.
A search for microsoft at bungie.net shows the links to the two files, but those links are now dead.
When we find an alternative source for these original files, we will add them to this FAQ.
Yes, it's true.In the summer of 2000 it was announced that Microsoft would purchase the company formerly known as Bungie Software, Inc. and make it Bungie Studios, a part of Microsoft's gaming division under Ed Fries.
As part of the transaction, Take Two Interactive received all rights to the Myth and Oni franchises in return for the 19.9% of Bungie they had purchased in 1999. They also reportedly received the rights to produce two games using the Halo engine.
Matt sent this week's Halo update to Battleground:Halo. The only significant news is that the game is now at release candidate 2, and to flesh out the week, he threw in this screenshot of Cortana. Enjoy!
The Bungie Store is addressing issues that prevent completions from Macintosh computers and international orders. As a result, the store is temporarily closed. Bungie assures that when the new site goes live, these problems will be fixed and there will be new merchandise available.
REDMOND, Wash. - June 19, 2000 - Microsoft Corp. today announced it acquired Chicago-based Bungie Software Products Corp., a leading independent developer of action oriented computer and video games. As a result of this acquisition, Microsoft gains exclusive publishing and distribution rights to select Bungie-developed titles, including the highly anticipated sci-fi action epic Halo.
Ever had a problem with a Bungie product not working correctly or mysteriously crashing? Of course you have! Even if you haven't had such misfortune (hi Mac users), you may want to check out the Bungie Support Database Site that went online earlier today. It's run by Bungie itself and is very thorough. If you have a problem or know of a Bungie newbie, be sure to keep that URL handy (support.bungie.com).
MacObserver has posted an audio interview taken during E3 with Bungie's Matt Soell. The topics of discussion cover Oni, HALO, Microsoft, and the XBox. It's 2.1 MB and is 14:57 in length; check it out.
Setter-upper of the fifth annual Bungie Fanfest, Freewill has put together a report of what happened during that glorious night. A jolly time would be had by Bungie employees, fans, and dorks alike, and the report has the pictures to prove it. Don't miss this one, as it is the best first-hand report of the FanFest out there.
