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| Sony buys Bungie for $3.6 billion |
Sony bought Bungie for $3.6 billion, the latest in a string of massive acquisitions in the gaming industry.
Bungie is best known for developing Halo, the mega franchise that put rival Sony Xbox on the map, as well as the Destiny franchise.
The studio is currently working on expanding its latest version of Destiny 2 with the development of a new untitled game slated for release in 2025.
After the acquisition, Bungie will continue to independently develop and publish its games, the company's CEO wrote in a blog post. The immediate change, he said, is that Bungie will be able to recruit talent more quickly across the studio.
He added, "With Sony Interactive Entertainment, our potential is limitless. Our future games are taking bold steps into our untapped space. We continue to push the boundaries of what is possible."
Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, echoed the comments and promised that Bungie would remain independent and cross-platform.
Bungie was not integrated into PlayStation Studios like other studios acquired by the Japanese company, but instead existed alongside the group.
The developer and creator of Halo Destiny has been acquired by Sony
This indicates that it has more autonomy within Sony's gaming division. "Bungie's global experience in cross-platform development and live game services has helped us realize our vision of expanding PlayStation to hundreds of millions of gamers," Ryan wrote.
Bungie has published a blog post to allay PlayStation and Xbox fans' concerns about the acquisition.
As promised, Destiny 2 will not be a PlayStation exclusive. She explained that the same experience will continue to be supported through the player's platform of his choice.
In addition, he promises that future games will be cross-platform and not exclusive to Sony's platforms.
For the current project, Bungie says it will continue its original plans for the Light and Dark saga from Destiny 2 to The Final Shape in 2024.
The next major expansion, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, will not feature any platform-exclusive content. Platform features such as cross-play and cross-save are still present.
The acquisition comes shortly after Microsoft announced that it would buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.