Ex developer: Apple nearly bought Bungie

A former Bungie developer has claimed that Apple was on the verge of buying the Halo developer just before Microsoft did back in the late nineties.

Yesterday, former Microsoft executive Ed Fries revealed that he was asked by CEO Steve Ballmer to placate Steve Jobs after the acquisition because the famously volatile Apple boss was furious about it.

Now, former Bungie staffer Tuncer Deniz, who worked there prior to the Microsoft buyout, has claimed that Jobs had also been invited to buy the studio, only to lose out because he dithered for a week before he made his mind up.

Deniz told Develop that Bungie's bosses "asked Apple if they were interested in buying us".

Apple's Phil Schiller put the question to Jobs, "who said no", but "after a week, Steve said yes". When Schiller phoned up Bungie, however, he was informed that "Bungie had already consummated the deal with Microsoft".

And the rest, as they say, is history! And purple gnomes.