With all of the recent success of Halo: Reach and Bungie’s departure from Microsoft coupled with the studio signing a distribution deal with Activision, the question on everyone’s lips is, “What is Bungie going to develop next?” At least some of the mystery of where the studio is headed next might have been solved, or at least the direction known.

While speaking at the 2010 Game Developers Conference, Joe Staten, a creative director at Bungie, hinted at the possibility of a new MMO-style shooter. It seems that this goes with his comment that they want to develop, “…a world that was always there for you,” which does suggest MMO; and when you combine that with the shooter experience that the studio has, it is only natural that this is what they could be working on.

As for when the next Bungie title will arrive, it is anyone’s guess.  But it would seem likely that if the reports are correct that the studio has been working on the project for some time (as suggested) a release in fall 2011 is possible; but we think a 2012 release is more likely. We do expect at least a teaser announcement to come at E3 next year if the whispers we are hearing are actually correct.