Source: Bungie / Destiny 2
Another day, another massive acquisition in the world of video games.
Following Take-Two Interactive’s purchase of mobile gaming giant Zynga and Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony said it too could acquire a popular game studio. Monday (Jan.31), Destiny developer and original Halo creator Bungie announced that Sony is purchasing it for $3.6 billion.
In a blog post, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons quickly answered the burning question stating that it will “continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games.”
“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,” Parsons wrote. “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.”
Despite being “owned” by Sony, Bungie will continue to describe itself as a multi-platform and independent studio and publisher but will position itself alongside the other studios owned by Sony. Playstation CEO and president Jim Ryan spoke about the deal in a separate blog post. “Bungie’s world-class expertise in multi-platform development and live game services will help us deliver on our vision of expanding PlayStation to hundreds of millions of gamers,” Ryan said.
Head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, echoed the same excitement about the deal in a separate statement. Bungie’s technical expertise, coupled with their track record of building highly engaged communities, make them a natural fit for collaboration with PlayStation Studios,” he said. “We are excited to make plans to share skills and expertise and to unlock the potential in having the brilliant minds at Bungie under the PlayStation roof.”
To further quell any worries about its games and them becoming PlayStation exclusives, Bungie released a faq where it answered questions on the matter. “No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community,” the company said.
Like with Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, there have been plenty of reactions to this latest big news. CEO of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox Head Phil Spencer was quick to chime and congratulate both Bungie and PlayStation on the deal.
The news of this deal comes as Bungie prepares to drop Destiny 2’s most significant content update yet, The Witch Queen.
You can peep more reactions to Sony buying Bungie in the gallery below.
1. Our exact sentiments.
3. How welcoming.
4. Makes sense
5. 2022 is shaping up to be a big year video games.
6. A great thing.
7. Mind blown.
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