Today, Sony closed their Bungie acquisition deal, purchasing Bungie Inc. for 3.6 billion dollars.
Back in January of 2022, Bungie announced on their website that they would be entering into a partnership with Sony. Bungie is best known for its ultra-successful Destiny franchise, and they plan to continue “maintaining Destiny 2, expanding the Destiny franchise, and working on new IP”.
This is Bungie’s third acquisition by a major company in the last 25 years. Back in 2000, Microsoft purchased Bungie prior to their release of the first Halo game. Most recently, Bungie was acquired by Activision in 2010 before leaving and operating independently in 2019.
This comes months after PlayStation’s lofty plan to release 10 online titles in the coming years. Sony’s CEO, Jim Ryan, claimed that their decision to acquire Bungie was partly to “bolster the company’s live service expertise” before revealing their goal to release 10 live service titles by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2026. Bungie will play a part in PlayStation achieving this goal.
Screenshot of gameplay from Destiny
Some long-time fans of the live service may also be apprehensive as to what will come next. However, in their official statement, Bungie claims: “We remain in charge of our destiny. We will continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games. We will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. Our games will continue to be where our community is, wherever they choose to play.”
Bungie also states that the most immediate change will be to the studio’s staffing. In partnership with Sony, they hope to expand their employee base to be able to deliver their ambitious vision to fans.
SOURCE: Gamesindustry.biz
