Former Halo Creative Developer and current graduate school student Nathan E. Bitner posted his response to the buyout of Bungie by Microsoft earlier this year in a post on the forum at halo.bungie.org.

An excerpt:

Don't doubt Bungie's integrity ... or, rather feel free to doubt it, but, personally, I know better. The company, no matter what their name is or where they're located at, or who their associated with, will always BE Bungie. They'd disband before being forced to make games that do not meet BUNGIE'S standards. They are men and women of integrity (at least the 50 I knew :) - you have nothing to fear.

Bitner also alluded again to the cryptic email he received from an unnamed source. While he asserts that he is no longer bound by the NDA he signed while at Bungie because of the sale to Microsoft (more evidence that Bungie Studios is a division inside Microsoft and not a wholly owned but separate subsidiary) he also said he would honor that agreement at least in part by not disclosing the identity of the source.