Not so long ago, Microsoft owned Bungie, and the acclaimed developer’s Halo titles were released on consoles only for the Xbox platform. But so much has changed. Bungie has since regained its independence with Destiny, and has aligned closely with Sony for the upcoming sci-fi shooter. An alpha for the game was available only on PlayStation consoles, this month’s beta will kick off first on PlayStation, and Sony will even offer a special Destiny PS4 bundle. There’s also a possibility that copies of Destiny will come pre-loaded with PS4 systems starting this fall.
It’s enough to think that Microsoft might be ticked off that Bungie for aligning so closely with the platform holder’s biggest, most direct competitor. But there’s no love lost between Microsoft and Bungie, according to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer. Asked by a fan on Twitter if he was mad at Bungie, Spencer replied, “No, not at all. Just want them to build a great game.”
@MeiSquawk No, not at all. Just want them to build a great game.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 1, 2014
This is not the first time the matter of Bungie reportedly favoring Sony over Microsoft for Destiny has come up. In late April, Bungie denied such a claim, with community manager David Dague saying, “If you’re a gamer who wants to play a Bungie game, you’re very much on our mind–every day.” This fan asked if Bungie would “give a nod to your Xbox fan base or just keeping ignoring them?” Dague said in response, “Who’s ignoring you?”
Destiny launches September 9 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. A beta begins July 17 for PlayStation consoles, before coming to Xbox later in the month. To release Destiny, Bungie has partnered with mega-publisher Activision Publishing, which believes the game could be its third billion-dollar franchise, joining the likes of Call of Duty and Skylanders.
For more on Destiny, be sure to read GameSpot’s previous coverage, including our hands-on time with the game’s head-to-head competitive multiplayer mode from E3.
Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch |
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