Sony is buying Bungie for $3.6 billion. That’s right: The creator of Destiny and Microsoft’s flagship Halo franchise will soon be a Sony studio. This news comes nearly two weeks after Microsoft’s historic acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As expected, social media sites such as Twitter exploded after the news broke. Naturally, many gamers wondered if Destiny would now become a PlayStation-exclusive franchise. According to Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, though, both Destiny and the company’s next game will remain multiplatform.
“We remain in charge of our destiny,” said Parsons in a blog post. “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.”
Over on the PlayStation blog, PlayStation president Jim Ryan also stated that Bungie would remain independent, saying:
“First off, I want to be very clear to the community that Bungie will remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher. As such, we believe it makes sense for it to sit alongside the PlayStation Studios organization, and we are incredibly excited about the opportunities for synergies and collaboration between these two world-class groups.”
Last year, Bungie began hiring for a new IP, which will be a “multiplayer action game,” according to the company (via PCGamer). This game, like Destiny 2, will remain multiplatform.
As things stand, don’t expect to see any seismic shifts for Bungie and Destiny in the near future. The company plans to release the next Destiny 2 expansion, The Witch Queen, on February 22, 2022, as a multiplatform title. Bungie’s blog post stated that the most immediate change we’ll see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio.
What this acquisition means for potential titles, such as Destiny 3, is anyone’s guess. Based on today’s announcements, Bungie will honor all existing contracts. This may not be true for Bungie games that aren't currently in development, however. Still, even if future Destiny titles remain multiplatform, Sony may make them more enticing on PlayStation. Perhaps years from now, Bungie titles will launch day-one on Sony's reported Game Pass equivalent, Project Spartacus.
Stay tuned for more news as it develops.
