14 DAY TRIAL // The studio that developed Halo gained its independence from Microsoft in 2007 and set off to make its own games, away from the dominant presence of the giant company. The prodigious son didn't return, but made a child of its own and this one wants to leave the nest as well. A few people from Bungie have formed a small team and have departed the studio to form Moonshot Games.
The company already has a site up, where it's already made its game creed known. Moonshot claims that it "is pledged to the exploration and development of high-quality downloadable games" and even though it has a small team it seems to have the right spirit for the industry. So far, they're a four-man team with three of them part of the Bungie studio that they broke off from. These are Michel Bastien, acting as managing director, Damian Isla as director of technology and Rob Stokes as the creative director.
The forth wheel on their rocket is artist Mike McCain, who came from Meteor Solutions, an analytic software company based in Seattle. It seems he too has had enough of the “Big Man” as his former company had numerous contacts with Microsoft. Bungie still keeps some ties with the new studio, as Pete Parsons, currently working at Bungie, is part of the co-founders, alongside the former FASA head Jordan Weisman. Michel Bastien will also act as the vice president in charge of product development.
McCain may not have worked in the past with a game developer but that doesn't mean he is inexperienced. His online portfolio is made up of numerous concept arts, most of them based on video games and even containing a steampunk adaptation of Halo's Master Chief. The studio seems to have thought things through a little bit and didn't just jump ship whiteout a life vest. Besides the game creed, the site also contains some details regarding the projects the company has in mind. "The details of Moonshot's first mission will remain top secret until the craft makes moonfall. However, all the necessary research, planning, and prototyping are already well underway."
Update
Not exactly as a proper update, more in the lines of a rectification, Pete Parsons and former FASA head Jordan Weisman are co-founders for Meteor Solutions, not the newly formed Moonshot Games. According to Michel Bastien, the Managing Director of Moonshot Games, who provided us with this clarification, the studio has also severed all ties with Bungie. Any misunderstandings that might have arisen from this error should be rectified and this article should better depicted reality as of now. We thank Mr. Bastien for bringing this to out attention.