Contrary to many fanboys' beliefs Aerospace is not Bungie's new big game release. In fact Aerospace isn't even a game at all! Bungie has entered the world of mobile, smart pad and social gaming. Bungie Aerospace was created to help small, independent developers launch their mobile and social games. Bungie Aerospace helps by providing small independent studios the creative freedom and the resources they need, like access to the Bungie.net platform and a loyal fanboy audience like the Bungie community, to launch their own entertainment experiences into orbit and to satisfy their own creative needs.
A Press Release from Pete Parsons, Bungie COO.
“Bungie has always been passionate about making and playing great games, regardless of platform. Bungie Aerospace will allow us to explore game creation in multiple formats with some amazingly talented teams. Now that we’ve returned to our roots as an independent studio, we are in a position to launch Bungie Aerospace to support, foster, and elevate like-minded, independent developers.”
Bungie Aerospace’s first official partnership is with a small Seattle based developer Harebrained Schemes. Leading the way is Jordan Weisman, the creative mind behind Halo 2’s “I Love Bees”, FASA Interactive, Wizkids, the MechWarrior and Shadowrun universes, and much more. The studio’s first mobile gaming title, "Crimson," is set to launch this summer on iOS and Android devices. More information on Crimson is scheduled for release in the next week, we'll make sure and keep you all updated.
Are you getting all of this yet? Here's a little Q&A from Bungie Aerospace
Q. ZOMG! What does it all mean?
A. It means that Bungie, through Bungie Aerospace, is partnering with a select group of independent developers to help them make their games great.
Q. So, it’s not your next big game?
A. Nope. But you should still be excited. Great games are awesome, no matter who makes them.
Q. You really think you can compete with [INSERT NAME OF AWESOMELY SUCCESSFUL MOBILE/SOCIAL DEVELOPER HERE]?
A.The ultimate goal of Bungie Aerospace is to help independent developers create and showcase their games. That’s the bar. Unless you also count the giant pile of cash we’re all hoping to swim around in, but that seems really materialistic.
Q. Is this why you have been hiring mobile developers?
A. Actually, we’re completely committed to building our next big action universe (noses to the grindstone and all that). Bungie Aerospace allows us to partner with small teams and help THEM make their kick ass games while we stay laser focused on ours. The mobile developers we’ve hired, and will hire, are working on secret stuff we can’t talk about yet. Oh, and Bungie Mobile. (Thanks for all the downloads and 5-star ratings, by the way! There’s more Bungie Mobile love on the way soon!)
Q. Cool. Let’s do this. Give me a link to start the download!
A. Whoa! Not so fast. The first title from Harebrained Schemes, codenamed “Crimson,” won’t be out until this summer. When it’s ready for download, we’ll give you dates and details.
