Bungie is an American video game developer located in Bellevue, Washington. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones's game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete. Originally based in Chicago, Illinois, the company concentrated primarily on Macintosh games during its early years, creating the successful games Pathways Into Darkness and the Marathon and Myth series. A West Coast satellite studio named Bungie West produced the PC and console title Oni in 2001. Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000; its then-current project was repurposed into a launch title for Microsoft's new Xbox console, called Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo went on to become the Xbox's "killer application", selling millions of copies and spawning a billion dollar franchise. On October 5, 2007, Bungie announced that it had split from Microsoft and became a privately held independent company, Bungie LLC. The company later incorporated and signed a ten-year publishing deal with Activision Blizzard. The company is known for its informal and dedicated workplace culture, and has recently released new titles with Activision, including IP Destiny.[1]

Games

Title Details
Gnop!

Original release date:
 Release years by system:
1990 – Mac OS
Notes:


Operation: Desert Storm

Original release date:[3]
  • NA: June 1991
 Release years by system:
1991 – Mac OS
Notes:
  • Originally written by Alex Seropian by himself before Bungie was formed. Bungie was founded in 1991 to release this game.[2]


Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete

Original release date:
  • NA: November 1992
 Release years by system:
1992 – Mac OS
Notes:


Pathways into Darkness

Original release date(s):[4]
  • NA: August 1993
 Release years by system:
1993 – Mac OS
2013 – Mac OS X
Notes:


Marathon

Original release date(s):
  • NA: December 21, 1994
 Release years by system:
1994 – Mac OS
1996 – Apple Pippin
2011 – iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux through Aleph One project
Notes:


Marathon 2: Durandal

Original release date:
  • NA: November 24, 1995
 Release years by system:
1995 – Mac OS
1996 – Windows, Apple Pippin[6]
2007 – Xbox Live Arcade
2011 – iOS, Windows, Mac OS X and Linux through Aleph One project
Notes:


Marathon Infinity

Original release dates:
  • NA: October 15, 1996
 Release years by system:
1996 – Mac OS
2011 – iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux through Aleph One project
Notes:
  • Final installment of the Marathon trilogy, it was released as freeware in 2005 and open source in 2011.[8]


Weekend Warrior

Original release date:
  • NA: February 17, 1997
 Release years by system:
1997 – Mac OS
Notes:
  • Developed by Pangea Software and published by Bungie.


Abuse

Original release dates:
 Release years by system:
1997 – Mac OS
Notes:
  • Side scrolling run and gun game developed by Crack dot Com. Bungie published the Mac OS version a year after the original MS-DOS release in 1996. In 1998, the source code was released into the public domain.[9] It was later ported to various platforms by other developers.


Myth: The Fallen Lords

Original release dates:
  • NA: November 25, 1997
 Release years by system:
1997 – Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Notes:


Myth II: Soulblighter

Original release dates:
  • NA: November 30, 1998
 Release years by system:
1998 – Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux
Notes:
  • A sequel to The Fallen Lords, it was re-released in 1999 with an expansion pack, Myth II: Chimera, and a copy of the original game, under the title Myth: The Total Codex.[11]


Oni

Original release dates:
  • EU: January 26, 2001 (PC)
  • NA: January 29, 2001
  • EU: March 9, 2001 (PS2)
 Release years by system:
2001 – Microsoft Windows, Mac OS (PlayStation 2 port by Rockstar Games)
Notes:
  • A third-person brawler, it was the only game developed by Bungie West, a satellite studio located in California.


Halo: Combat Evolved

Original release dates:[12]
  • JP: April 25, 2002
  • NA: November 15, 2001
  • EU: March 14, 2002
 Release years by system:
2001 – Xbox
2003 – Microsoft Windows
2003 – Mac OS X
2007 – Games on Demand
Notes:


Halo 2

Original release dates:
  • JP: November 11, 2004
  • NA: November 9, 2004
  • EU: November 9, 2004
 Release years by system:
2004 – Xbox
2007 - Microsoft Windows
Notes:
  • Sold 2.4 million copies on its first day, grossing US $125 million, the highest of any entertainment release at the time.[14] It went on to become the highest selling title on the Xbox at 8 million copies sold.[15]


Halo 3

Original release dates:
  • JP: September 27, 2007
  • NA: September 25, 2007
  • PAL: September 26, 2007
 Release years by system:
2007 – Xbox 360
Notes:
  • Sold approximately 5 million copies on its first day and US $170 million, taking the record from Halo 2.[16] It sold 11.5 million units in total, the fifth best selling title on the Xbox 360.[17]


Halo 3: ODST

Original release date(s):
  • JP: September 24, 2009
  • NA: September 22, 2009
 Release years by system:
2009 – Xbox 360
Notes:
  • Sold 2.5 million copies in the first two weeks and 6 million copies in total.[17][18]


Halo: Reach

Original release dates:
  • JP: September 15, 2010
  • NA: September 14, 2010
 Release years by system:
2010 – Xbox 360
Notes:
  • Sold US $200 million on its first day and 9 million units in total.[17][19]


Crimson: Steam Pirates

Original release dates:
  • WW: November 18, 2011
 Release years by system:
2011 – iOS, Google Chrome
Notes:
  • Developed by Harebrained Schemes and published by Bungie through their "Aerospace" program to support indie developers.[20]


Destiny

Original release dates:
September 9, 2014 		Release years by system:
2014 – Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Notes:
  • Bungie's first post-Halo game and the first Bungie game to be published by Activision.[21]


Destiny 2

Original release date(s):
September 6, 2017 		Release years by system:
2017 – Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows
2019 – Stadia
2020 – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
2021 – Microsoft Store
Notes:
  • Sequel to Destiny, published by Activision from its release up until January 2019 when Bungie terminated its publishing deal with Activision. Bungie will self-publish future installments and expansions.

References

  1. ^ Pham, Alex (April 16, 2010). "Bungie Activision Contract". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Bungie History". Bungie. Archived from the original on April 26, 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Operation: Desert Storm". Bungie. Archived from the original on October 19, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Pathways Into Darkness". Bungie. Archived from the original on April 16, 2000. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  5. ^ Miller, Pat (May 16, 2006). "From '94 to Infinity: Before Halo". The Escapist. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  6. ^ Rosenberg, Alexander M. (August 3, 1998). "Marathon's Story". Bungie. Archived from the original on November 9, 2000. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  7. ^ Smith, Luke (July 17, 2007). "Marathon: Durandal XBLA Q&A". Bungie. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  8. ^ "Burn Bright. Burn Blue". Bungie. June 23, 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Purchasing Abuse". Archived from the original on 2003-06-10. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  10. ^ Ryan, Michael E. (December 11, 1997). "Myth: The Fallen Lords Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Myth: The Total Codex". IGN. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  12. ^ a b McLaughlin, Rus (July 10, 2012). "The History of Halo". IGN. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  13. ^ O'Connor, Frank. "Halo 2: One Year Later". Bungie. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  14. ^ Thorsen, Tor (November 10, 2004). "Microsoft raises estimated first-day Halo 2 sales to $125 million-plus". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
  15. ^ "Prepare for All-out War". Sydney Morning Herald. August 30, 2007. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  16. ^ Hillis, Scott (October 4, 2007). "Microsoft says Halo 1st-week sales were $300 mln". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  17. ^ a b c "Xbox 360 Best Selling Games Statistics". Statistic Brain. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  18. ^ Snider, Mike (October 6, 2009). "Video game Halo spins off books, action figures and more". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  19. ^ Graft, Kris (2010-09-16). "Analyst: Halo Reach Sales Bode Well For Core Gamer Market". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  20. ^ "About Crimson: Steam Pirates". Bungie. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  21. ^ McCaffery, Ryan (17 February 2013). "Bungie's Destiny: A Land of Hope and Dreams". IGN. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
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