Bungie: Infinity Ward row didnâ??t concern us

Bungie community director Brian Jarrard has told Develop that the studio “wasn’t worried” by the Infinity Ward row when inking a landmark ten year deal with Activision.

The unremittingly tense Infinity Ward developments had raised questions over whether Activision could still build good relations with big-name studios.

That was, at least, until earlier today, when the publishing kingpin announced a show-stopping ten-year exclusivity deal with one of the biggest studios in the business, Bungie.

“I can tell you that we at Bungie weren’t too worried about the whole [Infinity Ward] thing, because we’re independent and we have a solid deal,” said Jarrard

Jarrard said that “the key difference between us and Infinity Ward is that we are independent, we will keep our own IP, so I wouldn’t say it was concerning.

“[We were] just a little concerned about the landscape and the timing – things are a little volatile right now, but ultimately we got a great deal that aligns perfectly with what Bungie wants to achieve.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Jarrard explained that Bungie retaining its own IP “was the one of the most important elements to the deal”.

He said: “Keeping our own IP is one of the things that was written into our own constitution back when we divested from Microsoft.

“That was extremely important to us. One of the great reasons that this was a great partnership was because Activision shared that sentiment, and was amicable to our wishes to retain ownership of our own IP and remain independent.”