These are not assumptions at this point. It's clear Bungie

: Thinking of this current fiasco, which stemmed from a trailer tampered with
: by Activision, I'm reminded of the time when Microsoft interfered with an
: ODST announcement trailer that resulted in a countdown leading to a note
: of half-apology/half-Microsoft-messed-with-our-plans.

That is an entirely different situation and was more or less a result of pushing back the announcement. Microsoft gave Bungie creative control on ODST.

: Sames like the same kind of crap they dealt with under Microsoft to me. Maybe
: Bungie will always be facing challenges with their publisher. Unless you
: worked there through all the different stages of Bungie's life, I don't
: see how anyone can say if the unknown trade-offs are better, worse, or the
: same.

With Microsoft it was simply about IP ownership. Microsoft gave them free reign prior to Halo 2 and Halo 3 on creating new IP's but at that time Bungie had problems managing that. Bungie simply saw what other developers were able to do working as independent companies under contract with big name publishers so they could make more money for themselves. Unfortunately they signed the deal with activision who are notorious for milking franchises and causing problems with the creative process. Atleast Microsoft let Bungie do their thing and really only stepped in when necessary (Halo 2's troubled development).

: I also don't see how the timing of Destiny's story revision confirms why Joe
: Staten left. In fact, since it was revised before he left, maybe he was
: the one revising it. Once it was finished, perhaps he moved onto a new
: project. Changeover after one's role is finished in the gaming industry
: happens all the time, whether it's Bungie, 343i, etc.

Why would he leave if he was happy or content with the changes? Not only that but he went back to Microsoft Game Studios out of all places. So to me it's obvious he had problems with how things were going.