Bungie Studios founder leaves Disney Interactive

Bungie Studios founder Alex Seropian has left Disney Interactive, and former Blizzard vice president Bill Roper has filled his place, the House of Mouse has confirmed with GameSpot.

A statement provided to GameSpot from Disney confirms Seropian's departure from the media giant's game division and notes Roper will be taking over the role. Roper had served as vice president of the Marvel franchise at Disney since June 2011.

As for Seropian, he founded Bungie Studios in 1991 and was instrumental in the development of Halo: Combat Evolved, the first entry in the now-mammoth shooter series. Seropian later left Bungie and formed Wideload games in 2004, which Disney purchased in 2009.

With that acquisition, Seropian was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of core games at Disney Interactive, the position he has now departed from. There is no indication as to where Seropian is headed in the future.

As for Disney's gaming business as a whole, the company recently reported its first quarter financial results, noting that for the period ended December 31, 2011, revenues were down 20 percent to $279 million.

Disney attributed the lower results to fewer marquee console game properties available, compared to this time last year when Epic Mickey helped drive revenues for the publisher. Additionally, the company said its shift from console games to social titles remains ongoing.