Activision's 10-year exclusive agreement with Bungie for the Halo developer's next big action property was a major score for the publisher, and one it probably needed in light of the messy Infinity Ward situation. EA Games label head Frank Gibeau noted that there wasn't much room to add Bungie to its roster, but you can bet that EA would have loved nothing more than to sign Bungie, preventing Activision from landing such an important deal.
As it turns out, EA did have "extensive conversations" with Bungie, according to David DeMartini, who oversees EA Partners. "It's not good to enter into a partnership that doesn't make financial sense for both sides. We had extensive conversations with them, but could never really figure out a deal that made sense for both of us. It just didn't come to fruition," he told CVG. "Obviously, they were able to come up with some kind of deal that made sense to Activision and made sense to Bungie and we hope they make great games. It's healthy for the industry to have big independent studios that are making great products."
DeMartini continued by noting that EA will definitely be in touch with Bungie again when the studio is ready to work on another project. "I don't want to see them fail - I want them to be successful. And when they start up a second team, we'll have other discussions with them about that game as well - because they're a great studio," he said. "There are probably only 20 studios in the world that are that highest level - and they're certainly one of them."
Moreover, Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard commented in a separate interview that a second project "may be possible down the road." EA no doubt will be ready, but if Bungie's pleased with its Activision relationship, that second project could just as easily go to Activision as well.
