Sony buys Bungie for $3.6 billion to merge it into PlayStation
Tokyo, Feb 1 (EFE).- Japanese multinational Sony Tuesday announced the acquisition of American video game developer Bungie, the creator of popular “Destiny” and “Halo” franchises.
Sony said it would incorporate Bungie into its video game development division, PlayStation Studios.
The $3.6-billion deal, pending regulatory approval, seeks to further the Sony online multi-player games vision, a joint statement said.
“Bungie will continue to operate independently, maintaining the ability to selfpublish and reach players wherever they choose to play,” the statement said.
Sony competitor Microsoft’s recent purchase of Activision Blizzard had led to concerns that major franchises might come from Xbox console exclusives.
“Post-acquisition, Bungie will be an independent subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment and run by its Board of Directors chaired by Pete Parsons and Bungie’s current management team,” the statement added.
Sony has made several such purchases in recent years, increasing the number of partners in its PlayStation Studios group.
The most recent one was its acquisition in June of independent studio Housemarque, the makers of Playstation bestseller “Returnal.”
PlayStation Group is currently made up of 17 developers, including Insomniac (“Ratchet & Clank”), Guerrilla (“Horizon”), Naughty Dog (“Uncharted”, “The Last of Us”) and Santa Monica Studio (“God of War”).
“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,” President Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan said.
“This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience,” he added.
Bungie CEO and Chairman Pete Parsons, for his part, praised Sony’s support for the developer’s “creative independence” and called for “building games that value our community and meet them wherever and however they choose to play,” in another apparent reference to multiplatform games.
Following the acquisition, Sony’s shares rose by nearly 2 percent at the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the first hour of trading. EFE
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