After the big hit that “Halo 3” has been scoring for Microsoft, the rumors have started to float over the Internet announcing the most amazing thing: that is the fact that Bungie Studios, the game developer behind the “Halo 3” record-breaking video game, is in fact leaving Microsoft, its partner. Could this be true? The opinions are divided among the critics, gamers or simple observers of the video gaming industry, depending on the point of view from which each of them analyzes the rumors.

However, it has all started when a reader blog has reported this amazing idea. One could have read on the blog that starting with the 1^st of October 2007, Bungie is no longer part of Microsoft. Furthermore, despite most of the gamers and people believing that such fact could never be true, some other news web sites have reported even more. From “sources close to Bungie”, these web sites have confirmed that “Halo 3” has really been the last joint project between Bungie and Microsoft, as we know them till now.

Bungie has been reported to have become tired of creating (other) “Halo” video games and to have bought from Microsoft the studio name back. Furthermore, Microsoft seems to be capable of retaining the rights to the “Halo” games, but it has earned for itself also the so called “right of first refusal on future games” from Bungie. But this will mean also that Microsoft could theoretically become a publisher for a game that Bungie would want to appear also for Sony’s PlayStation 3 or Nintendo’s Wii. And this would be quite interesting.

Meanwhile, Microsoft continues “to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3”, without neither denying, nor confirming the rumors: “There’s been no such announcement.”