Last week’s announcement of the Activision/Bungie partnership had some forum pundits scratching their heads or fearing the worst, and not without good reason. After all, Activision’s exploitative business practices and rocky relationship with Infinity Ward have created a PR nightmare for the infamous mega-publisher. However, Bungie’s not out to bury itself. I see this recent news as a huge step forward. The move means getting to create an entirely new universe, one that the creator can call its own. While Bungie is seemingly locked into this new franchise for the next decade, right now, everything seems fresh and exciting. I have enough love for Master Chief to fill six cat helmets, but that doesn’t mean I’m not extremely interested to see one of the most talented developers in the world set out for new territory.
Ditto for Respawn. These guys had been working on the Call of Duty franchise for ages, and I’m sure that Zampella and West are eager to explore different settings or even genres. Activision likely wanted those guys to give us more Modern Warfare whether we did or not, but now Respawn has teamed with Electronic Arts. Again, another gigantic publisher, but EA has a strong recent track record for original IPs and supporting interesting ideas. This doesn’t always work out sales-wise - Brütal Legend, Mirror’s Edge – but I’d be shocked if Respawn’s first project is another humdrum military shooter.
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