When it comes to discovering exactly what is going on with Bungie Software, Doug Zartman has been the person to talk to since the very beginning. As the Mouth of Bungie he has been both a spin artist and a solid source of concrete fact, bridging the yawning gap between what he was allowed tell the ardent fans of Bungie and the huge amount of information said fans demanded. Bungie has pulled deeper and deeper within their shell as the years wore on - the infamous phrase "two weeks" became the even more infamous "when it is done." Yet Zartman has always been ready with an eager grin and a friendly handshake to lead us on with one more tidbit of information.

Now that we know that the Microsoft purchase of Bungie Software is indeed a fact, he seemed the natural person to consult on this issue. What follows is the limited number of questions we were allowed to ask in a quick phone interview conducted last Friday afternoon.

IMG: The obvious question: What will happen to the Mac version of Halo? Will a Mac version still be published and by whom?

Doug Zartman: To paraphrase the FAQ on our site:

It's important to understand two things: The decision about what platforms Halo and future Bungie games will be developed for remains in the hands of Bungie Studios, in the hands of the teams developing them. In Halo's case the decision has not been made yet. The development team has a ton of options to consider, and that's what they're doing right now. They may choose to concentrate on one platform, to bring the game to every platform under the sun, or something in between. As of this writing we simply don't know what the answer will be. We cannot promise that a Windows or Mac version of Halo will ship, but we can't rule it out either.


IMG: Will the Mac and PC Halo be delayed to match the date of the X-box release?

Zartman: As above, it's impossible to answer that meaningfully at this point.


IMG: Can you tell us if Oni for the Mac is still on track? Will Take 2 be publishing it?

Zartman: Oni will become the property of Take 2 Interactive and will be published for Mac and PC by Gathering of Developers, and by Rockstar Games for PS2. Oni is still on track for a simultaneous, cross-platform release this October, around the time of the PS2 launch.


IMG: If there will be a Mac, PC, and X-box Halo, will they be able to netplay together?

Zartman: I can tell you that Halo will be supported by a future iteration of bungie.net, which will be maintained by us, in the same way that Myth is supported by the current bungie.net.


IMG: Will future Bungie products make it to the Mac OS?

Zartman: We know that Oni will. Beyond that, it's up to the development teams.

There you have it. Please feel free to comment on Doug's answers on the IMG Forums.