It might be some way from launching its first game on the platform, but Halo creator Bungie is nonetheless billing the release of its debut app on iOS as a new direction for the studio.
Bungie Mobile is a stats tracker for Halo: Reach on Xbox 360, letting users check their career progress and keep an eye on the performance of their friends.

The developer has also promised that it will be using the app to give away free extras, though details are currently sketchy.

Mobile chief

"It's our first, small step into the mobile world," the studio says on its website.

"The first of many. It really is just a beginning - our first, super cute baby step. We already have adult-type plans to keep updating Bungie.net Mobile with new features and enhancements in the months and years to come."
Bungie Mobile isn't the first attempt by a console developer to tap into the smartphone market.

At the turn of the year, Fable III: Kingmaker – which charged players with planting flags in the real world in a Foursquare-style exercise – closed after users placed more than 3.5 million flags across the planet.

It was soon followed up by the critically acclaimed Fable: Coin Golf on Windows Phone, which offered genuinely fresh gameplay rather than a mere franchise extension.

Whether Bungie will attempt to do something similar isn't clear (a matter no doubt complicated by Microsoft's ownership of the Halo franchise), though the company has hinted that it will consider releasing its app on other platforms in the future.

[source: Bungie]