Bungie, the company behind the venerated “Halo” series and “Destiny,” has pulled out of its contract with Activision. Bungie has plans to go on its own while Activision will continue to work on its existing intellectual properties as well as other existing projects.

In a blog concerning the split, Bungie said:

“We have enjoyed a successful eight-year run and would like to thank Activision for their partnership on ‘Destiny.’ Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce plans for Activision to transfer publishing rights for ‘Destiny’ to Bungie. With our remarkable ‘Destiny’ community, we are ready to publish on our own, while Activision will increase their focus on owned IP projects.”

The largest reason this partnership initially occurred was because Bungie needed a funding boost to get “Destiny” started while Activision was eager to launch a new IP to supplement its existing properties. This breakup is both a good thing for Bungie as well as its customers/players. This is good for the company because it no longer has a publishing company breathing down its neck, telling it to push games out even if they are not finished. Bungie has control of its future and hopefully its products will show that.

The end of this contract is also good for Bungie fans because they will be able experience what Bungie wanted for the “Destiny” franchise in the first place. With the company now allowed to set their own schedules and deadlines, they should be able to make a comeback regarding their recent titles, hopefully with less micro-transactions to appease shareholders.

Many development companies like Bungie who needed help from a publisher to kick-start a game have fallen into similar scenarios where the publisher has all the control and the developer is forced to cut corners and deliver less than ideal products, which hurt their reputations in the long run. Hopefully, more of these companies will break away from their publishers and deliver more completed games than have recently been released.