About a year ago, the internet went all abuzz about the mysterious "Bungie Aerospace." There's a website, but that just claims it's "coming soon," and the famed "Halo" developer itself has given absolutely no clues as to what in the world Bungie Aerospace is, exactly. Personally, I had all but forgotten about the name, but it appears that Bungie has now filed for incorporation under the mysterious moniker in the states of Delaware and Washington.
According to halo.bungie.org, Bungie filed for incorporation with the Washington Secretary of State on April 27, 2011. That filing also references yet another similar filing in the state of Delaware on April 20. The documents name Bungie president Harold Ryan as the new company's director, with current head of strategy and corporate development Ondraus Jenkins taking over the president's position within "Bungie Aerospace."
There's obviously been a great deal of speculation as to Bungie's intentions in starting the new corporation. After exiting their previous partnership with Microsoft, the company has since paired with Activision, allegedly working on a new multi-platform title. Could the name symbolize a new organization, joining the combined forces of Bungie and Activision? I have no idea, and I don't think anyone else does, either.
Looking through the great multitude of theories – both hair-brained and plausible – posted on any number of gaming forums, I think I'm personally leaning toward the "new game engine" position. With the "Halo" franchise supposedly over (despite the fact that a rerelease of Halo: CE seems evident), it would make sense for Bungie to jump into the engine business. They're already developing a new IP, so why not build a new engine to run it?
I know quite a few people believe that Bungie Aerospace is somehow the name of the developer's next title, but I have to disagree. While I obviously don't know anything more than anyone else about the next Bungie game, it seems unlikely that they would put their studio's name right into a game's title. Even "Aerospace," minus the Bungie prefix, sounds a bit generic.
The truth is, no one really knows, but I do enjoy the theory that Bungie is literally getting into the aerospace industry, building giant slingshots to rocket people into space; because that's freakin' awesome.
[Thanks, Joystiq]