Update - Bungie Fires Marty O'Donnell?

[Adam91]

Yesterday Marty O'Donnell the composer and audio director at Bungie made a post on his twitter account announcing that he has been fired from the company. 

 

[updates will be provided at the bottom of this post under the original article] 

 

 

He states that his duties at Bungie had been terminated without cause on April 11th. No reason has yet been announced why he had to step down from his roles and departured from Bungie.

 

Although something about this does seem suspicious, could this be a late April fools joke? Marty O'Donnell is a veteran employee at Bungie and has created a huge fan base due to his music for the Halo series. If this is indeed true and not a sick and twisted prank then this will no doubt come as a blow to many in the Bungie community especially with their new series Destiny is in the works.

 

What do you think about this news? Do you think it may be a prank or is this the end of Marty at Bungie? 

 

 

Source: Twitter

 

 

UPDATE

 

Bungie has not yet commented directly on the matter or if they even but they have left a farewell message to Marty O'Donnell on the news page of their site. 

 

The messages reads; "For more than a decade, Marty O’Donnell filled our worlds with unforgettable sounds and soundtracks, and left an indelible mark on our fans. Today, as friends, we say goodbye. We know that wherever his journey takes him, he will always have a bright and hopeful future.  

 

We wish him luck in all his future endeavors."

 

That is all Bungie has officially commented on the matter but according to a reddit user claiming to be a Bungie employee he or she says that the reason for the termination of Marty's position at Bungie was a dispute over pay.

 

"Okay. So I can't give out too much detail here, but I will let you know what I know. Marty was a contracted employee, he didn't just get a fee for each game he produced. Marty had received a significant raise in the last few years, but was now asking for another. This created tension between him and the board (some of whom already felt he was overpaid). A verbal argument ensued recently between Marty and a member of the board. Shortly there after he was let go. So there was certainly 'cause' but one that a lot of us felt could be worked through. But money talks. The board feels they can get someone for cheaper, and without the drama, that will have a better ROI." 

 

I highly doubt this person is genuine, the thread this anonymous source created on reddit has been deleted for failing to privately identify his or herself to the moderators after claiming he or she would do so. I wouldn't advise anyone to believe this and be wary of any other statements that may arise . 

 

Here is a link to the reddit thread just to show it has been removed. 

 

http://343i.org/1rz

 

 

This post has been promoted to an article

[Caboose The Ace]

..... Shocking....
 
 
I really hope this is a very late April fools joke...
 

But if it isn't though... Jason jones I don't know where you are but I will find you !

[Mr Biggles]

</3

End of an era for an amazing person.

[Unease Peanut]

Who in their right mind would fire that guy?

[Fishy]

After all of this, I really do see Bungie hitting a downfall with losing thee best music director. Destiny will be the last game with him in it, why do you think everyone liked all the Halo's except Halo 4? Because of THIS guy right up there .

I personally hope it's a delayed April Fool's Day joke. 

 

Adam, are you personally going to keep close tabs on this?

[Adam91]

After all of this, I really do see Bungie hitting a downfall with losing thee best music director. Destiny will be the last game with him in it, why do you think everyone liked all the Halo's except Halo 4? Because of THIS guy right up there .

I personally hope it's a delayed April Fool's Day joke. 

 

Adam, are you personally going to keep close tabs on this?

 Yes I'm going to try and keep on top of every update on this situation I'm doing one now.

[Drizzy_Dan]

This is terrible news! I mean a great article but WTH! Marty O'Donnell is a musical genius. The themes he created for Halo are bar none some of the best you can find in any game. Who could they possibly get to replace him? And whoever it is, sorry to say for them, will not be able to fill his shoes.

 

Halo Mjolnir Mix. Nuff salad.

[GermanShepherdD]

343i should hire him like yesterday. :3

[Composite Armour]

He could end up at 343...

[MCPO Mayh3m]

343i should hire him like yesterday. :3

 

Exactly my thoughts.

[Twinreaper]

I think what many people fail to realize, is that Marty doesn't just know music.  While he may be infamous for his scores and compositions for Halo, he learned and knows, a great deal more about about development than just music.  I'm not sure how many people remember his pieces of VidOCS, but Marty also knows much about harmonic and spherical lighting, as well as many other aspects of the halo franchise in particular.

 

343i needs to bring him on board.  As a veteran member of the franchise, his insight and knowledge would be more valuable than O'Connor and Wolfkill's combined.  I'm not knockin either of them, but for Bungie to allow those two or any other select member to be taken by Microsoft without a fight when 343i started, well that just goes to show how much Bungie valued them, and measures their worth to the company.  I always had concerns about the touting of who 343i obtained to lead the franchise.

[Caboose The Ace]

Good point Twin...

 

If it is true then 343I should hire him it would give Halo 5 just the kick it needs to really start off and get peoples attention.

[rrhuntington]

Oh me

Oh my

Marty on the Fly

 

Truly a living legend. Whether he joins 343i, I can bet you one thing: If he's out of a job, it won't take him long to find another. A high valued free agent right over yonder. 

[drthspartan]

HE NEEDS TO COME BACK TO HALO

[Maestro]

From a gaming point of view, that is a very poor decision on Bungie's part, especially if Destiny's soundtrack is incomplete. It'll be a Marty sound up until halfway through the game, then some other guy comes along and makes music that's completely different.

 

But if he was complaining about not being paid enough, then I can understand Bungie getting tired of his attitude. There was a guy at work who complained about not getting enough hours, and when he went to put in his two week notice, he was just told to leave immediately. Marty doesn't seem like that kind of person though...

[Gemini Dragons]

Maybe they fired him so the Halo franchise doesn't go under? Just a thought but what if Bungie has developed emotions for the Halo series and only realized only now....slight chance at that though.

[MCPO Mayh3m]

Maybe they fired him so the Halo franchise doesn't go under? Just a thought but what if Bungie has developed emotions for the Halo series and only realized only now....slight chance at that though.

 

In my opinion... even if Bungie says they "care" about the Halo series... I don't think they want Halo to succeed under a different companies name.

[Adam91]

From a gaming point of view, that is a very poor decision on Bungie's part, especially if Destiny's soundtrack is incomplete. It'll be a Marty sound up until halfway through the game, then some other guy comes along and makes music that's completely different.

 

But if he was complaining about not being paid enough, then I can understand Bungie getting tired of his attitude. There was a guy at work who complained about not getting enough hours, and when he went to put in his two week notice, he was just told to leave immediately. Marty doesn't seem like that kind of person though...

 I think Marty would have more than half of the music done 3 quarters maybe or nearly all of it done by this point? I dunno I could be wrong.

[Buns]

I actually like Neil(the new composer for Halo 4) and I don't really want Marty to return to make music for the Halo franchise if that means firing Neil. 343i basically rebooted the Halo aesthetic and I like their fresh ideas more then Bungies. 

 

Although I think this is extremely stupid that Bungie fired Marty over a raise I mean the guy made some fantastic music for all their games and has been at Bungie for over 15 years. Part of me feels like Bungie is slowly descending into their own rampancy.

 

I hope Marty finds a job soon though.

[rrhuntington]

I actually like Neil(the new composer for Halo 4) and I don't really want Marty to return to make music for the Halo franchise if that means firing Neil. 343i basically rebooted the Halo aesthetic and I like their fresh ideas more then Bungies. 

 

Although I think this is extremely stupid that Bungie fired Marty over a raise I mean the guy made some fantastic music for all their games and has been at Bungie for over 15 years. Part of me feels like Bungie is slowly descending into their own rampancy.

 

I hope Marty finds a job soon though.

This is the second classic Bungie member in recent memory to leave the studio. Let's not forget Joseph Staten who joined Microsoft studios a few months ago after leaving them. When he left however, it was on good terms unlike with Marty. It will be very interesting to see if these losses will add up and make an impact in the future of the studio.  

[Bob]

Please, Please Please... Please, Please, Please Marty Please... Please.. Please Marty Please, Please? Please. Please! Please Marty..

 

OH GOD! Comeback Marty Please.. Come on, Please Marty Please.

 

No other words can come out of mouth right now..

 

I can't even

Can't even

Even

[Unease Peanut]

It seems wierd that they would part ways because of a payment dispute.

 

I can understand both sides, he wants a raise and they don't want to give one. But it seems wierd that Marty would resign or that Bungie would fire him when Destiny is still in development.