Bungie, 'Destiny' link established

Back in February, a rumor spread that Bungie was working on a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter titled "Destiny." According to the source, purportedly a contractor who was let go from the project, the game will be like "[World of Warcraft] in space," run on an entirely new game engine and will sport "unique online connectivity and matchmaking technology."

Though the exact nature of Bungie's next project remains a mystery, today Halo.Bungie.Org revealed a concrete connection between the Halo developer and the term "Destiny." The fan site uncovered a dummy corporation called Podophobia Entertainment--curiously named after the fear of feet--that was set up by two members of Bungie's staff, president Harold Ryan and composer Martin O'Donnell. The corporation's address is also listed as 434 Kirkland Way, Kirkland, WA--the former location of Bungie's headquarters.

How does this connect to the title Destiny? Halo.Bungie.Org also uncovered a US trademark filed on July 20, 2009, for the term by Podophobia Entertainment. The trademark was filed for "Computer game software; Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Video game software; Virtual reality game software" by Podophobia's Santa Monica, CA, branch. Santa Monica is also the location of the headquarters of Activision, which struck an exclusive 10-year deal with Bungie in April 2010. (Podophobia also registered another trademark in the same category for the term "Be Brave.")

A further link between Bungie and Destiny was also made via the symbol that was trademarked alongside the term (pictured). A keen-eyed NeoGAF reader noticed the exact same symbol on the T-shirt of Bungie production director Jonty Barnes in a recent Penny Arcade video.

As of press time, Bungie had not responded to requests for comment on the report.