Source: Halo creator Bungie's official Web site.

　　What we heard: Though it declared independence from Microsoft in October 2007, Bungie has seemingly continued to operate as an internal studio of the influential publisher. Next week, the publisher will release its latest Xbox 360-exclusive installment in the Halo franchise--Halo 3: ODST--and Halo: Reach is planned for Microsoft's console in 2010. However, beyond Reach, Bungie has said that it "probably" won't be returning to its famed franchise.

　　In July, the studio said that it was close to landing a publishing deal for a new intellectual property. Last week, a potential indication of which publisher would be picking up the studio's newest game surfaced, when Bungie revealed that Mega Man creator and current Capcom head of researchand development and online business Keiji Inafune stopped by its Kirkland offices.

　　"Bungie is an amazing studio that has made incredible games," said Inafune as part of an interview the developer posted. "So I was always curious about how they made their games in hopes of being up to add some of the flavor into Capcom games. Also, I wanted to come down to Bungie in order to see just how well our philosophies on game design matched up. If things clicked, I know it would be interesting to collaborate together on a title in the future."

　　Tossing out further hints of a potential partnership, Inafune stated, "As I mentioned before, a Bungie-Capcom collaboration would certainly create something amazing as well…but I guess we'll have to see if the next twenty years holds something that special or not."

　　The official story: Neither Bungie nor Capcom had responded to requests for comment as of press time.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: Though both Inafune and Bungie were ambiguous about the potential of a publishing deal, the implications behind the Capcom executive's visit cannot be ignored.