Destiny studio Bungie is not in talks with Microsoft about an acquisition.

That's according the firm's CEO Pete Parsons (pictured), who said on Twitter that rumours about the developer being bought by the Big M are false.

Word that Bungie was in discussions with the Xbox maker about a potential acquisition emerged from the GamesBeat podcast, where the outfit said that there had been talks between the two companies. Eurogamer said that it had heard the same separately. Apparently these dealings had fallen through due to Bungie's high cost.

"All of the info and speculation out there is not true," a Bungie spokesperson told PC Gamer.

"We are lucky to have a great relationship with our many friends over there who play Destiny, and Halo will always have a special place in our hearts."

Companies like Microsoft are always on the lookout for new acquisitions, so it would be in fact more unlikely that the Big M hadn't looked at buying Bungie at some point. The Destiny maker recently gained its independence, buying the publishing rights to the sci-fi IP from Activision Blizzard at the start of 2019. The company has been laying out what the future of the franchise looks like and it doesn't seem likely that it would be willing to give up its new-found freedom.

Bungie did in fact used to be owned by Microsoft, too. In 2000, the Big M bought the studio off the back of its upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved. In 2007, Bungie split from the Big M.