Bungie began as a company one crisp morning in May of 1991, but that wasn't exactly the beginning. Before it emerged, fully formed as the multinational corporate behemoth that published Operation: Desert Storm (on which they later based a war), "Bungie" released a Pong clone (nearly 20 years after the original, mind you) called Gnop!

That's Pong spelled backwards, and it was that type of brilliant marketing strategy that would catapult Bungie into the gaming stratosphere. Surprisingly, there was a long way to go between Gnop! and Halo 2. To be fair to Gnop! – its price was right. The game was free, although a couple of users did send its creator $15 for the source code.

But Chicago in 1991, when Alexander Seropian set up the company to publish his self-penned Operation: Desert Storm, was a very different world. The country was seeing epic deficits, unemployment was at record levels, Janet Jackson was topping headlines and we had just been involved in a short but messy war in Iraq. Unrepeatable events, for sure.

Back then, the PC was clearly the dominant computing platform, but that didn't stop Seropian and his Artificial Intelligence class compadre Jason Jones from embracing the Macintosh, for reasons of familiarity and ease of use rather than any fundamental business thinking. That and the fact that Jason Jones had a mostly complete build of Minotaur ready when Seropian convinced him to join forces.

"Yeah, I grew up on the Apple II and then the Mac," says Jason, "I wrote all this C code for PCs though, before I even went to school. This was the heyday of PCs, with Wing Commander and stuff. The PC market was really cutthroat, but the Mac market was all friendly and lame. So it was easier to compete."

Jason remembers things weren't all sweetness and light, "I didn't really know [Alex] in the class. I think he actually thought I was a dick because I had a fancy computer. He was looking for another thing to publish after Operation: Desert Storm, so we published Minotaur – and it was after that we set up a partnership. What I liked about him was that he never wasted any money."

There was no money to waste in the early days, when the whole operation (if you can call two guys in a basement an operation) was something like a garage band – and early players of Minotaur (Bungie's second or third release, depending on how you count 'em) might have been shocked to see Jason and Alex sitting cross-legged in Alex's apartment, hand-assembling the Minotaur boxes. And although Operation: Desert Storm had been a minor hit (2500 copies sold!), it was Minotaur that would raise profiles, eyebrows and expectations.

Add engine Engines
Aleph One

Aleph One

GPL licence

Aleph One (formerly known as the Marathon Open Source Project) is a free and open-source first-person shooter engine based on the source code of Bungie...

Halo Engine

Halo Engine

Commercial licence

Engine developed by Bungie Studios, continually updated and used in all first-person shooter Halo games.

Add game Games
Halo 2

Halo 2

First Person Shooter

Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequel, Halo 2, have achieved phenomenal success on the Xbox video game platform as gamers around the world follow the saga...

Marathon 2: Durandal

Marathon 2: Durandal

First Person Shooter

Marathon 2: Durandal was the first sequel in the Marathon series of science fiction first-person shooter computer games from Bungie Software. It was released...

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo: Combat Evolved

First Person Shooter

HALO is one FPS that really did introduce many new gameplay elements. It offers all that is said below and the modifications already in development look...

Marathon Infinity

Marathon Infinity

First Person Shooter

The third title of the three games collectively known as the Marathon Trilogy, you reprise your role as a security officer, you must rewrite time to stop...

Marathon

Marathon

First Person Shooter

You are a security guard who accompanied a group of space colonists on their trip on the huge space ship, the Marathon. Suddenly, aliens who call themselves...

Halo 3

Halo 3

First Person Shooter

After two chartbusting efforts on Xbox, the enigmatic, genetically enhanced Spartan soldier known as Master Chief makes his highly anticipated Xbox 360...

Destiny 2

Destiny 2

First Person Shooter

Destiny 2 - this is a fantastic action movie, in which you have to go on a grand tour of the solar system. In an exciting story campaign, you will enter...

Myth II: Soulblighter

Myth II: Soulblighter

Real Time Strategy

Myth II is a real time tactical game based on squad and unit management rather than resource gathering and expansion. Thanks to a realistic physics engine...

Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach

First Person Shooter

In Halo: Reach, players experience the fateful moments that forged the Halo legend. It’s the story of Noble Team, a squad of heroic Spartan soldiers...

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

First Person Shooter

"Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" is a spectacularly remastered version of the original "Halo" campaign, created in celebration of the 10th anniversary...

Post comment Comments  (0 - 10 of 14)
ComradeWinston
ComradeWinston

For denying the PC Master Race the recent half of the Halo series and the soon to be released Destiny, I formally as an Inquisitor of the PC Master Race initiate an investigation into this company's blatant Tech Heresy primarily in suspicion of their change of allegiance long ago and continued ignorance of God-Emperor Gabe's holy dominion when given opportunity for redemption by releasing Destiny on PC.

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AFellowStalker
AFellowStalker

<3ungie

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Spartan052
Spartan052

When are you guys going to add Halo Reach to your list of games on here?

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MrTimm
MrTimm

its a xbox game not a pc game maybe thats why

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HEVScientist
HEVScientist

Have you ever heard Halo master chief collection?

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SpeedyClaude
SpeedyClaude

(buried)

Master Chief would meet his challenge with a speck of dust. HALO SUCKS! Gordon would DESTROY Master Chief. I'm sorry, ANYTHING WOULD DESTROY MASTER CHIEF!

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ttttttttt
ttttttttt

I'm sorry, Being a huge halo fan since the first one came out, My reaction to this and pretty much you is 2 words.
**** you.

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Lavama
Lavama

You have your opinion, I have mine. I think Master Chief could probably complete HL a little bit quicker than Gordon, a little bit quicker, but Samus would still finish it within an hour and we get the special ending. (Oh how I love refrencing Samus speeding through a game...)
Still a good series me thinks.

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~c0dy~
~c0dy~

o.0 0.o ....

Wow, and apartment based company made the famous halo. Wow.

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Ender910
Ender910

Have you any idea how many companies started or with such a small development team? Just take a look at ID Software, and Interplay.

Just a few of the games/franchises started by these humble companies include: like Doom, Quake, Unreal Tournament, Baldur's Gate, Descent, Freespace, etc.

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Hellsevil22
Hellsevil22

bill gate started in his parents garage. and he's a very rich man. :D

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