By Kendall Watson

kwatson@kirklandreporter.com

Well known as the “Halo” video game franchise, game software developer Bungie LLC confirmed they were relocating their offices to Bellevue. First reported in a Dec. 10 Kirkland Reporter story last year, city officials said the relocation is due to size constraints facing the company’s 139 employees at their present location at 434 Kirkland Avenue.

Company spokesperson Brian Jarrard confirmed the move was on, but declined to give specifics on where or when it would happen.

“Bungie did recently finalize the decision to relocate our studio to a larger location in downtown Bellevue,” he said.

Several weeks ago, a March 19 Daily Journal of Commerce story claimed Bungie is “jumping” at the lease of 85,000 square feet of office space at the Galleria, a primarily retail complex, citing an unnamed real estate industry source. The space was once used as a movie theater that closed last year.

Once a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., Bungie relocated from Chicago, Ill. to Kirkland in 2005 and took over the former Kirkland Hardware and Albertson’s store site. The company broke away from Microsoft in 2007.