Bungie, the developer of popular series Destiny, is now officially part of the Sony PlayStation universe. Sony Interactive Entertainment closed on a $3.6 billion deal today to buy the independent game studio and publisher Bungie. Part of the agreement sees Bungie maintaining creative control over its operations and independently develop its games.
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The deal was initially announced back in January 2022, going through the required regulatory approvals. Bungie will be considered an independent subsidiary of Sony and won’t be required to make either current or future games exclusive to PlayStation consoles.
According to TechCrunch, Sony is hoping Bungie’s expertise with games like Destiny will help it expand its own live service game offerings. Sony CEO Jim Ryan has said at an investor presentation that the company plans to spend 55 percent of PlayStation’s budget on live service games by 2025, with Bungie playing a major role in that investment. PlayStation plans on releasing 10 live service games before March 2026, and Sony believes Bungie’s assistance will be crucial in this effort.
We are proud to officially join the incredible team at PlayStation, we are excited for the future of our company, and we are inspired to bring together players from all over the world to form lasting friendships and memories.
— Bungie (@Bungie) July 15, 2022
Per Audacia ad Astra! https://t.co/trVT3s0BTE pic.twitter.com/YQbnLrnAQW
Sony is far from finished in its acquisition drive. Microsoft is of course the major threat for Sony, with the massive $68 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard expected to start paying major dividends soon. Sony this week also closed on a deal to acquire Montreal-based Haven Studios, which is working on a multiplayer title for PlayStation. They are planning to acquire even more studios over the next few years in a bid to grow its live service and PC offerings, as Ryan has noted in several interviews.
“The strategic significance of this acquisition lies not only in obtaining the highly successful Destiny franchise, as well as major new IP Bungie is currently developing, but also incorporating into the Sony group the expertise and technologies Bungie has developed in the live game services space,” Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said.