Bungie, the firm behind Destiny 2 and famed for creating the Halo franchise, has been purchased by Sony for $3.6 billion.
Bungie will become an “autonomous subsidiary” of Sony Interactive Entertainment, according to information released in a blog post authored by Jim Ryan, President & CEO of SIE. The studio will not only continue to be governed by the same executive board as it is now, with CEO Pete Parsons at the lead, but it will also preserve its identity as a multiplatform studio.
Bungie will continue to publish its upcoming video games on multiple platforms when the agreement for its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment is finalized. Thus Destiny is not about to become a PlayStation-exclusive franchise. So Xbox players can breathe a sigh of relief.
Parsons acknowledged this in a blog post on the PlayStation website: “We remain in charge of our destiny. We will continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games. We will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. Our games will continue to be where our community is, wherever they choose to play.”
“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,” Parsons added.
As we’ve seen with previous significant industry acquisitions like Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, there’s now a lengthy process before the transaction becomes effective and the first impacts are seen. We’d also expect to see more acquisitions in the near future as the industry continues to consolidate.
