The acquisition is still pending regulatory approval. Sony and Bungie did not return requests for comment on the deal’s expected closing date.
The deal would give Sony ownership of the popular online game, which continues to evolve and provide regular content updates, some available for players to purchase in-game, spending real money to get unique objects.
“This is an important step in our strategy to expand PlayStation’s reach to a much wider audience,” Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said in a filing with the Securities. and Exchange Commission of the United States. “We understand how vital the Bungie community is to the studio and look forward to supporting them as they remain independent and continue to grow.”
The next “Destiny 2” update, “The Witch Queen”, will be released on February 22. In the new update, players will be able to take on a villain teased in the game series for nearly a decade. Bungie developers wrote in a note that the new expansion won’t have any platform exclusivity.
“Bungie retains complete creative independence for our games and our community. Our plans for the Light and Dark saga are unchanged, throughout The Final Shape in 2024,” wrote “Destiny 2” game director Joe Blackburn and the general manager Justin Truman in a message to players on Monday.
Bungie, which is also known for creating the “Halo” franchise, will continue to work on “Destiny” and produce new titles. The developers said in the same note that future games will not be PlayStation exclusives either. The Bellevue, Washington-based studio, founded in 1991, has more than 900 employees.
At the beginning of this year, the games industry provided a lot of consolidation news. A week before Microsoft announced its deal, Take-Two made waves on January 11 for what was then the biggest video game purchase in history, agreeing to buy mobile gaming giant Zynga for $12. .7 billion.
Sony previously acquired “Last of Us” studio Naughty Dog in 2001, “Horizon Zero Dawn” developer Guerrilla Games in 2005, and “Ghost of Tsushima” creator Sucker Punch Productions in 2011, among others. These three studios expanded the company’s exclusive content offerings and attracted more people to purchase PlayStation consoles. According to evidence presented in the Epic v. Apple lawsuit, as well as Sony’s latest earnings call, console makers have traditionally sold hardware at a loss, relying on subscription services and software sales to make a profit. profit.
In December, Bloomberg reported that Sony planned to launch a new subscription service this spring that would give users access to a variety of modern and classic games for a monthly fee, similar to Microsoft’s “Game Pass.”
“[Buying Bungie] sets the company up for a strong deal when it launches its revamped gaming subscription in March and insulates it from ongoing supply chain issues that have made it virtually impossible for average consumers to get their hands on a PS5” said Joost van Dreunen, a gaming business lecturer at New York University Stern School of Business.
