Bungie split from Activision and gained self-publishing rights for Destiny in 2019.
Bungie and Activision announced the separation on January 10, 2019, ending an eight-year publishing partnership. Under the agreement, Activision had helped publish Destiny and Destiny 2, while Bungie remained the developer and owner of the Destiny universe. The transition returned Destiny’s publishing rights to Bungie.
The change made Bungie responsible for publishing the game, managing its live-service operations, and shaping its future without Activision as its publishing partner. Bungie described the move as a step toward becoming an independent, globally operating studio and continuing Destiny according to its own long-term vision.
The timing can cause confusion because the split was announced in January, while the handoff process continued afterward. The key year for the announcement and transfer of publishing control is 2019. Bungie later continued self-publishing Destiny 2 across multiple platforms, even after Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Bungie in 2022; that acquisition did not change the answer to this question.