A player plays the video game “Destiny 2” developed by Bungie Studios and published by Activision during “Paris Games Week” on October 31, 2017 in Paris, France.
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Sony Interactive Entertainment has agreed to acquire privateer video game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion, adding to a wave of industry consolidation this month.
Bungie is the company behind multiplayer shooters Destiny and Halo, the latter of which it developed until 2010. Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000 and separated from this company in 2007.
Although smaller than Take-Two Interactive’s $12.7 billion deal for Zynga and Microsoft’s $69 billion ActivisionBlizzard acquisition, Sony agreed to buy the company which, along with Halo, helped launch Microsoft’s first Xbox in 2001.
All three video game deals were announced in January.
Tech companies are increasingly interested in gaming as they look to expand their audiences and prepare for future iterations of virtual and augmented reality devices.
sony shares were up about 4.5% for the day as of 4:30 p.m. ET.
Bungie will continue to operate independently within Sony, according to a statement.
The video game developer’s most recent hit is Destiny 2, which will continue to be offered on multiple platforms. The Halo franchise was developed by Microsoftfrom 343 Industries since 2011. Its latest game, Halo Infinite, launched on Xbox and Windows in 2021.
“Bungie has created and continues to evolve some of the world’s most beloved video game franchises, and by aligning its values with people’s desire to share gaming experiences, they unite millions of people around the world,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony Group Corp. ‘s chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, which develops PlayStation and is based in San Mateo, Calif., is a subsidiary of Sony Group Corp.
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