Activision admits that while the timing for this announcement is not perhaps ideal, nonetheless the company has signed a ten-year publishing and distribution deal with Bungie. Bungie became independent from Microsoft after being purchased by Microsoft and then later spun off from Microsoft.

According to the details that we have so far, the deal does not include any ownership in the studio; and according to the whispers we hear, Bungie will still own its own IP and the deal is really with Activision strictly for publishing and distribution. The deal is multi-platform, which will be a first for Bungie in some time, as the company most recently has been (naturally) Xbox and Xbox 360 exclusive. According to various reports, Activision has been working for nine months to get this deal done.

Bungie is already hard at work on the first new independent title which will be published and distributed by Activision. The new title is pretty far along and it is being described as an “action game universe” title. The deal from our understanding is only new titles based on new IP.

The news comes as a big win for Activision, who has been taking a lot of heat with the issues surrounding Infinity Ward. It is surprising that Bungie would sign with Activision, but sources tell us that discussions were held with other publishers, as well, and the company was not swayed one way or the other once the Infinity Ward drama started. It is expected that we will learn more about the future title from Bungie soon, but it is expected that the studio is fully onboard to make Halo Reach as successful as possible, so don’t expect any news soon.