A Joystiq story today appears to reveal rather more information about Bungie's upcoming projects than fans are used to hearing during a quiet period. Aside from a few seconds of music and video, the term "Destiny" was about all we knew. Now, a document purporting to be the a publishing and development agreement between Bungie and Activision has leaked onto the internet, specifying not just one or two or three but four "sci-fantasy action shooter" games referred to by the term "Destiny" but also allows for Bungie do dedicate a small portion of its resources for the development of a game called... Marathon.

A post at Bungie.net, while short on details, would seem to confirm that the agreement is legitimate.

It appears as if Bungie retains the ownership of the new IP, although Activision will get ownership if Bungie fails to ship the first game, and if Activision terminates the agreement after the first game ships, it will retain an exclusive, royalty-bearing non-transferable license to the property.

More on this later.

UPDATE: According to Gamasutra, the agreement's disclosure was not actually a leak, but rather a result of the ongoing litigation between Activision and the originators of the Call of Duty franchise.

UPDATE: Other stories on this at Edge and The Escapist.

UPDATE: Dean Takahashi at Venture Beat has written an analysis piece that suggests that the contract will be tough for Bungie to fulfill.

UPDATE: Develop has a detailed article that lists most of the important points in the agreement, and breaks them down in terms of what they mean for Bungie and Destiny.