Sony buys Bungie for 3.6 billion US dollars

The next billion-dollar deal in the games industry is signed and sealed. Two weeks after Microsoft bought Activision-Blizzard, this time competitor Sony has taken action. Bungie, developer of Destiny 2, is joining PlayStation Studios with immediate effect. At the same time, the developer retains its independence.

Sony buys Bungie

It seems a little bizarre. With the purchase of Activision-Blizzard, brands formerly associated with Sony’s PlayStation consoles, such as Spyro the Dragon, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Crash Bandicoot now belong to Microsoft and its Xbox division.

However, former Halo developer Bungie, which helped the first Xbox take off, now belongs to Sony as of yesterday. As both companies report in agreement, Bungie joins Sony Interactive Entertainment for 3.6 billion US dollars. Halo 1 to Halo: Reach are among the studio’s best-known titles, and since 2014 they have dedicated themselves to the Destiny shooter brand.

Bungie will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary and will continue to develop multiplatform titles. At least as long as the exclusive deal with Destiny is still in place. All decisions regarding the development and release of new games will continue to be made by Bungie itself.

SIE president Jim Ryan wrote in a statement: “Bungie will continue to remain independent and multi-platform, enjoying creative freedom and continuing to build on their history of developing extremely successful brands in the sci-fi shooter genre, which fits very well with Sony’s own portfolio of brands.”

What does this mean for Destiny 2?

Destiny 2 will continue to be available on all current platforms and will expand to additional platforms in the future, developer Bungie announced on Twitter. As far as the development of the Destiny universe is concerned, Bungie also continues to have a free hand in terms of creative development.

In addition, no platform will receive preferential treatment. Everyone who plays Destiny will get the same experience – no matter what platform. Destiny 2 will receive its next expansion on February 22, which is titled The Witch Queen.

More Sony purchases considered safe

However, after Sony’s acquisition of Bungie, the Japanese company continues to expand its portfolio of developer studios. As Christopher Dring, Head of Gamesindustry.biz reported on Twitter with reference to SIE CEO Jim Ryan, further purchases by Sony are to be expected in the future.