GDC 2011: Bungie Working On 'Massively Multiplayer Action Game'

Confirming recent rumors of a possible MMO in development, Bungie revealed in a GDC session last night that the company is working on an original "massively multiplayer action game" with Activision. Bungie lead network engineer David Aldridge didn't verify that the game is titled "Destiny" or that it's the developer's only project in production as previously reported, but he promised that the MMO will not be "[World of Warcraft] in space", according to consumer site IGN. The game will be the Bellevue, Washington-based company's first original IP since it was purchased by Microsoft and released Halo: Combat Evolved for Xbox. Since 2001, the developer has helped shipped six titles for the Halo franchise, which have gone on to sell a total of more than 27 million copies. This will also be Bungie's first title created as part of an exclusive ten-year multiplatform publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard. Financial tearms for that deal were not disclosed, but Bungie noted that it will continue to own the IP. The developer hinted at a persistent world project at last year's Game Developers Conference, too, when lead writer and cinematics director Joseph Staten asked attendees, "Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you?" [UPDATE: Bungie's latest weekly update claims that Aldridge's comments were a joke in his final GDC slide, riffing on recent rumors about what Bungie is working on.]