Phil Spencer has a really interesting story about why he loves Destiny, a game he passed on becoming an Xbox exclusive.
Phil had a special Story Time presentation in this year’s PAX West, where he went over his favorite games in front of a live audience. And yes, Phil said that Bungie pitched Destiny to him, and as he put it, he ultimately ‘went with Activision.’ But let’s get back to that in a minute.
Phil had fond memories of working on the same floor as Bungie, and talking with their former heads, such as Alex Seropian, on making their games, as well as getting feedback on other Microsoft projects. By the time Phil joined Microsoft, Bungie was already owned by the conglomerate, and so they were the veterans ushering him into the industry.
Phil confirmed that he really wasn’t into multiplayer games, so the first time that he tried Destiny, it “didn’t really click with me”. Of course, in time he saw that it was not exactly a competitive PvP experience, as we had gotten used to with Call of Duty and Halo.
Phil also shared his own observation on why Bungie moved between franchises. While game design elements like unlocks, gunplay, etc. are clearly Bungie, Phil saw that they wanted to move away from having Master Chief, a single character, be the “center of the Halo universe”, to a game where your player character, the Guardian, is “something that you configure.”
Phil has these final heartening words to say about his time working with Bungie:
“The thing about Destiny that I start with is just my history with Bungie. Their evolution of working on games, I do love that it’s a local team. I have a lot of friends over there still. And yes, they’re owned by the other guys now, but it’s a game that I’ll always love, and a team that I’ll always have a ton of affinity for.”
These are somewhat bittersweet words, in light of everything that has happened since. We can’t confirm the allegations that Bungie’s current CEO Pete Parsons made promises to Sony that the studio couldn’t possibly keep, but that did lead to some fans speculating that Microsoft was right to let the studio go and make Destiny as an independent game.
And if gamers were honest about it, Destiny becoming a multi-platform game was the best outcome for gamers, and the industry. It did become one of the biggest franchises in the industry, showing us what was possible with live service, and made the pie bigger for everyone.
Gamers are also speculating on whether Phil’s decision to ultimately get Microsoft to acquire Activision was a good thing. While there’s certainly criticism to lobby on how well that has worked out for Xbox gamers, the quarterly reports do tell a clear story for Microsoft and their investors.
But if there’s anything to really get from this, it’s that the people who make video games don’t all see the business to be a bitter war over attrition in the same way the fans might see it. Perhaps if there’s any regrets that Phil has now, it’s that he is no longer in a position to help Bungie through what seems to be the darkest time that the studio has ever been in. But maybe this is an opportunity to see how things used to be, all the way back then.
You can watch Phil Spencer’s Story Time from Pax West 2024 below.
