Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that they are acquiring Bungie, the developer of Destiny, in a deal set to cost $3.6 billion dollars. Gameindusty.biz has reported on this that following this deal Sony will allow Bungie to remain “an independent subsidiary” of SIE and that they will remain a multi-platform studio allowed to “self-publish and reach players where they choose to play.”
While Bungie has been best known in recent years for their live-service titles Destiny and Destiny 2, they are perhaps best known as the original developers of the Halo franchise for Xbox, with their last title in the series being Halo Reach which was released in 2010. Their latest franchise was also previously published by Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft is set to acquire next year.
In a post from Bungie, the company described what this acquisition meant for them, stating:
In SIE, we have found a partner who unconditionally supports us in all we are and who wants to accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment, all while preserving the creative independence that beats in Bungie’s heart. Like us, SIE believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become. Together, we share a dream of creating and fostering iconic franchises that unite friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across multiple platforms and entertainment mediums.
Jim Ryan also stated of this acquisition:
We’ve had a strong partnership with Bungie since the inception of the Destiny franchise, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome the studio to the PlayStation family.
This is the sixth acquisition that Sony has made since 2021, with most companies such as Bluepoint andHousmaque having had strong relationships with the PlayStation in the past. Bungie has partnered with Sony of Destiny in the past, but the studio has remained tied to the multiplatform format since they broke from Microsoft.
Similar to Activision Blizzard, experts expect this deal to be heavily scrutinized before the deal is signed. in other similarities, Bungie was heavily criticized last year for having a toxic work environment with their long-time Head of HR being forced to step down in the outcry of several employees.
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