Bungie passes Halo duties to 343 next month

All Bungie-developed Halo games will have their online data handed over to Microsoft’s 343 studio on March 31st.

343 Industries will be responsible for game stats, player service records, hosting user-generated content and operating the in-game ‘Pro Service’ moving forwards. This also means things like Halo Reach’s daily challenges and online records will be solely taken care of by 343.

The handover transition process began last year and Bungie has now confirmed it will be completed by the end of next month.

Bungie says it will preserve all existing historical Halo data on its website Bungie.net ‘for as long as the internet and Bungie’s data storage systems remain functional’.

The studio created Microsoft’s huge billion-dollar Halo franchise in 2001, with the release of Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox. 343 Industries produced last year’s HD remake Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary for Xbox 360.

Bungie is currently working on a new IP for Activision. The publisher signed a ten-year deal with the studio in April 2010.

Thanks for making the Halo-era version of Bungie.net more successful than we could have possibly imagined. You complete us,” read a Bungie statement.

See you starside.”