Acquired

Episode 4: Bungie (with Xbox Co-Founder Ed Fries)


Listen Later

Ben and David are joined by Former Microsoft VP and Co-Founder of Xbox, Ed Fries, to discuss the Bungie acquisition and the development of Halo. Highlights include: 

  • Ed’s call with Steve Jobs after the acquisition, and sharing the stage with Steve and Bungie Co-Founder Alex Seropian at the Macworld Keynote.
  • Bungie today, and the unlikely path to get there led by Harold Ryan.
  • How to find something that all parties want to get a deal done, the creation Peter Tamte’s spin-out Mac gaming studio, and orchestrating the division of current Bungie projects and assets with Take-Two, led by Ryan Brandt.
  • Saving a project that’s off schedule and missing the mark, and how Jason Jones led the effort to make Halo 2 a hit at launch.

Sponsors:

  • WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25
  • Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra
  • Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry
  • Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25


More Acquired!

  • Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
  • Join the Slack
  • Subscribe to ACQ2
  • Merch Store!

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

AcquiredBy Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

4,324 ratings


More shows like Acquired

View all
This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

This Week in Startups

1,302 Listeners

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

544 Listeners

Odd Lots by Bloomberg

Odd Lots

1,975 Listeners

The Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish

The Knowledge Project

2,674 Listeners

The a16z Show by Andreessen Horowitz

The a16z Show

1,096 Listeners

How I Built This with Guy Raz by Guy Raz | Wondery

How I Built This with Guy Raz

30,201 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

2,191 Listeners

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry by Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

799 Listeners

Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

Masters of Scale

3,980 Listeners

The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios

The Journal.

6,125 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

10,181 Listeners

The Memo by Howard Marks by Oaktree Capital Management

The Memo by Howard Marks

442 Listeners

Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Business Breakdowns

354 Listeners

ACQ2 by Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

ACQ2 by Acquired

298 Listeners

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

458 Listeners