It’s been an interesting road for Washington-based developer Bungie over these past 20 years. In the early 2000s, the studio was largely synonymous with Microsoft’s Halo franchise, producing 5 critically acclaimed titles in the series before charting a new course. After going independent back in 2007, the studio continued to expand and eventually partnered with Activision for a brand new series known as Destiny which has since went on to become a massive IP for the company.
However, things continued to evolve for the company in the years since Destiny launched. The studio, along with the help of Activision, put out a well regarded sequel, which continues receiving new content and updates to this day. However, Activision eventually pulled out, leaving the future of Destiny solely in Bungie’s hands. Not content to be a one game studio, Chinese conglomerate NetEase invested $100 million in Bungie to get a minority stake as well as help develop a new IP known as Matter. Now, the once small studio out of Bellevue, Washington appears to be evolving once again.
Earlier today, the company announced a number of major growth initiatives including a big studio expansion and redesign of its worldwide headquarters. With an estimated date of completion in September 2022, the headquarters will be jumping from 84,000 square feet to over 208,000 square feet. The added space and state of the art facilities are intended to house and support multiple project teams for both Destiny and non-Destiny related content.
In addition to the redesigned headquarters, Bungie is also opening its first international office based in Amsterdam. Intended to open sometime in 2022, the Amsterdam office will be home to the publishing and marketing teams.
Today’s announcement also touched on other key announcements including changes to key personnel. Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy are now working on translating and expanding the Destiny Universe to additional forms of media, while Justin Truman, former General Manager on Destiny 2, takes over the development leadership. Jason Jones is now focusing on a more talent driven role, assisting creative leadership with reaching their full potential.
The Board of Directors has also added Trace Harris, a finance and strategy executive who has worked with many companies across the entertainment and technology sectors including 13 years at Vivendi. In addition, Pamela Kaufman has also been added to the board and currently serves as President of Global Consumer Products for ViacomCBS where she oversees worldwide licensing and merchandising of ViacomCBS’ brands across all of its networks and franchises.
With this news as well as the upcoming content Bungie is working on for both Matter and Destiny 2, the future looks to be pretty bright for the independent, employee-owned game development studio.
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