Coming after the newly announced 10-year partnership between Bungie and Activision, Brian Jarrard, Community Manager of Bungie told VG247 that the recent Infinity Ward controversy does not affect working with the Santa Monica-based publisher.
While he could not comment on the recent troubles, Jarrad said that Bungie chose to go with Activison because it allowed the developer the opportunity to retain its own intellectual property.
“It’s the exciting next step in defining Bungie’s next chapter,” said Jarrard. “It’s great to know that we can actually execute on the creative vision that we have for our next universe, and know that we have a way to get it out to as many people as possible.
“[While] I can’t personally comment or speculate about any of the happenings taking place [with Activision/Infinity Ward], I don’t really know any more about it than I’ve read on the internet.
“Our relationship in this process started about nine months ago, so it’s the culmination of a lot of discussions and a lot of hard work on both sides.
“I think ultimately what’s most important to us is that we were able to establish a partnership and a deal that allows Bungie to keep its core values and the things that are most important to us, to make sure that we own our own IP, that we remain an independent company, and that we basically have creative control to realize the vision for this next universe
“I think it’s impossible to draw a straight apples-to-apples comparison.
“We’re focused on having the best deal for our future, and I really can’t speculate or second guess on what may or may not be happening between Activision and Infinity Ward”.
Jarrad was not the only one that had something to say about thew new partnership. Commenting on the recent agreement, Microsoft said that its relationship with the developer remains the same despite the new deal.
“Our partnership with Bungie as a first-party developer for Xbox 360 remains unchanged,” reads the statement, “and right now we’re deeply engaged with them on the development of “Halo Reach,” which is poised to be the biggest game of 2010.”
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