THE RUMOUR MILL is spinning again after a Seattle Post-Intelligence reader posted an email received from a friend of a higher-up, stating that the creator of the massively popular Xbox series Halo, Bungie, has separated from Microsoft.

The email states Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the ‘Halo’ franchise and says the official announcement won’t be released until October 6th, so as to not impact the quarterly results.

Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000, where it gained exclusive publishing and distribution rights to select Bungie-developed titles, including Halo. Microsoft has denied the split saying, “There’s been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is ‘Halo 3.’”

According to the email Microsoft was interfering with various aspects of Bungie’s business. It claims Voles were fiddling in everything Bungie did, from marketing to public relations. According to the email, Microsoft was also “stingy” with profits.

Whether the email is genuine or not remains to be seen.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/02/bungie-microsoft-part-company