Do you remember being surprised by the news that Bungie had signed an exclusive publishing contract with Activision a few weeks after West and Zampella had done their runner from Activision?
Well that contract has now been unsealed by a judge in relation to the West and Zampella case and we can now see exactly what to expect from Bungie, starting next year in fact.
According to the contract Bungie signed they are expected to release their first Xbox 360 exclusive sci-fantasy shooter title next year followed by another one for the Xbox 720 in 2015.
After which in 2017 and 2019 2 more are to be released but this time for all three platforms (PS4, Xbox 720 and PC)
However that’s not all, each game will be followed by a downloadable expansion pack to be released the following year.
Bungie are also allowed to use 5% of their resources to create a follow on to their cult classic, Marathon.
In exchange Bungie will receive between 20% and 35% of the operating income for these titles as well as being eligible for bonuses of $2.5 million per year if they hit quality and budget milestones. Plus an extra bonus of $2.5 million if their first title receives an average ranking of 90/100 on Gamerankings.com
The last option is becoming a standard in the industry now but I wonder if any reviewers will think twice about giving their title 8.5 or 9 knowing that $2.5 million rests on that decision?
The entire contract can be seen here and the reason this contract has been unsealed is to help the legal team for West and Zampella prove that they are owed a certain percentage of profits.
Whether it works in their favour or not is yet to be seen but you can be sure that Bungie aren’t ecstatic that their inner legal dealings are now in public view.
Last Updated: May 22, 2012
