In a recent GamesBeat podcast, a rumor emerged that Bungie and Microsoft had a talk regarding a possible buyout. However, this fell through because they weren’t able to agree on a price.
A Eurogamer article also happened to strengthen this rumor by saying that it heard these rumors independently. Now, this hearsay was spread enough that Bungie CEO Pete Parsons had to bluntly deny the reports.
This is false.
— pete parsons (@pparsons) September 14, 2020
Although, we’re not exactly sure which part Parsons is denying – the fact that the discussion fell through, or if there was a buyout discussion between the two companies, to begin with.
However, Bungie made a follow-up statement via a representative:
However, things didn’t work out well with that arrangement, and Bungie decided to separate with Activision in 2019.
Later on, Venturebeat’s Jeff Grubb – the one who initially mentioned the rumor – tweeted that his comment wasn’t supposed to mean that an official movement towards a buyout was underway.