Activision Signs 10-Year Deal with Makers of Halo

In one of their smarter moves, Activision has signed a 10-year exclusive contract with Bungie, the developer of Halo (and other less noteworthy games). Having lost (both deliberately and then more as backlash) their main FPS talent at Infinity Ward, Activision was forced to scrabble for a new deal to keep their name in the adventure/FPS market. There are two interesting parts to this contract. First, in a blow to Microsoft, the deal is for cross-platform game development, so we can expect to see games on the PS3 and maybe also the Wii instead of just on XBox and Windows-based PCs. Second, the creation of an online community is part of the terms. Whether this just means continued support and updates for XBox Live play or a whole new paradigm of online FPS play (MMOFPS? World of Halo?), I am interested to see what a talented developer such as Bungie will come up with when partnered with Activision. Per Thomas Tippl, Activision's COO, "When it's ready and when we're talking about it, I think you will be blown away." I hope he's right for both gamers' and Activision's sakes.