While the gaming industry is certainly filled with interesting questions and concepts pertaining to business, very few (if anyone ever) wondered: will Sony buy Bungie? Creators of the Destiny series of games, Bungie has had a long history in the video game industry despite being relatively isolated over the past several years since its split with Microsoft in 2007.
Already, the story seems geared toward a documentary of the ages. Not weeks after Microsoft itself moves to buy, in the largest purchase of the industry, Activision Blizzard, Sony has now reared its head in the acquisition of Microsoft's previous golden goose, Bungie. For even more perspective, Bungie was the studio that launched Halo: Combat Evolved for Microsoft's Xbox debut, allowing the green-hued device to soar into greatness and give Microsoft a newfound edge in the Nintendo/Sony-dominated gaming sphere of yesteryear.
Now, Sony vies to silence the ongoing woes of its consumers and the naysayers as Microsoft blows through some of the biggest studios in the industry, including Bethesda, which it purchased in 2021 for $7.5 billion. Sony's deal with Bungie, set at a $3.6 billion price tag, will see the studio remain seemingly independent (which it likes, a lot) and gives PlayStation a new member to its ever-burgeoning family.
President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), Jim Ryan, explains the trappings best to Brendan Sinclair of GamesIndustry.biz:
"This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience. We understand how vital Bungie's community is to the studio and look forward to supporting them as they remain independent and continue to grow. Like Bungie, our community is core to PlayStation's DNA, and our shared passion for the gamer and building the best place to play will now evolve even further."
Bungie's independence will continue via a board of directors headed by Pete Parsons, standing CEO and chairman of the studio, as well as other valuable management individuals currently at the company. In terms of content, Bungie interestingly isn't so much a powerhouse like a Bethesda or Activision, but it does have a weighty IP in the form of arguably the most successful live service game, Destiny. In addition to the sci-fi fps looter-shooter, Bungie likewise has an unannounced IP in the pipeline set for 2025, an experience that will most probably remain platform agnostic.
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In the studio's own words, the deal is intended to boost productivity and drive support for future experiences. The immense coffers provided via Sony allows Bungie more breathing room for creative influences and development processes. Parsons relays:
"With Sony's support, the most immediate change you will see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio to support our ambitious vision. If this speaks to you, and you want to help us put a dent in the universe, we are hiring across all disciplines for Destiny 2 and for all new worlds beyond."
The fusing of these two is not so much a content strategy as it is a long-term play on the part of PlayStation. Where Microsoft is building out talent across revenue streams, including mobile support, Game Pass additions, and more, PlayStation already has a pretty extensive list of exclusive IP; Spider-Man, God of War, Horizon, Death Stranding, etc. It would be far more beneficial for the company to expand its foothold across the board and into the PC realm, where it has no sooner flourished with the likes of invigorating ported software.
Destiny will most likely remain across all platform bases. Exclusivity may only come in the form of PlayStation-only raids or modes for Destiny 2, but even then, that's highly unlikely. Sony itself relays how community is at the forefront of this $3.6 billion endeavor, thus to keep players on one platform more satisfied than the rest generally defeats the purpose.
From Take-Two Interactive's $12.7 billion deal with Zynga to Microsoft's mic drop of a nearly $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, 2022 has already kicked off accordingly for the video game industry, keeping competition strong and futures vague. It's anyone's best guess who might be next in this buyer's world, but here's to hoping Sony moves on Konami for that Silent Hill and Metal Gear IP.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Ryan Epps
