Returning to roots: Bungie on its creative rebirth

Speaking to Develop in an in-depth interview about Bungie signing a 10-year publishing deal with Activision, the studio has revealed its delight with returning to its creative roots.

"There’s excitement, trepidation," stated Bungie’s community director Brian Jarrard. "We’re under pressure to prove ourselves again."

When asked if the company had considered using its strong brand for self-publishing, Jarrard insisted that using a publisher would only dilute its ambitions.

"Honestly, it’s just not something that isn’t a core competency for us, nor is it something that excites us," he said.

"We have great designers and programmers and a creative core that is inspired and passionate about delivering stories and great experiences – adding a whole other level to our business would just dilute what makes Bungie, Bungie."

Jarrad added: "It boils down the fact we see ourselves as storytellers. As people who work in creative mediums we want to share that with the largest possible audience.

The deal also means a renewed focus on creativity, claimed the community manager.

"One of the reasons this was such a great partnership was because that Activision was amicable to making a deal that would allow us to retain our own IP and still have creative control over our projects. That was super-important to us."

While Jarrard admits that the move makes Bungie feel collective trepidation, he also spoke of the excitement at a chance to reach new audiences with a fresh creative start.

"Our thoughts with the IP itself is that we want to build a place that – much like the Halo Universe before it – is engaging. We want to build a lot of different stories, with a lot of breadth and depth, within this action world over the course of many years," he enthused.

Click here to read the full interview.