Sony buys Bungie, creator of Halo and Destiny games, for US$3.6 billion

  • 01/02/2022
People playing Bungie's game Destiny 2
The move comes after Microsoft spent $101.5 billion on Activision Blizzard. Photo credit: Getty Images

Sony has announced it's buying Bungie, the studio behind popular game franchises Halo and Destiny, for US$3.6 billion (NZ$5.5 billion).

The move by the PlayStation maker is the latest move in a series of consolidations in the worldwide gaming sector.

Less than two weeks ago, Microsoft revealed it was buying Activision Blizzard, the company that publishes the Call of Duty franchise and MMORPG World of Warcraft, for US$68.7 billion (NZ$101.5 billion) in the biggest deal in gaming history.

That came shortly after Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two spent US$11 billion (NZ$16.7 million) on Zynga, creator of games such as Words With Friends and Farmville.

Bungie worked on the original Halo series when it was owned by Microsoft, but split from the tech giant in 2007.

Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie, said the company remains in charge of its own destiny and will continue to independently publish and creatively develop games.

"With Sony, the potential for our universes is unlimited," he said.

"Our future games will take bold steps into unexplored spaces for Bungie, continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, and will always be built on a foundation of creating meaningful, lifelong friendships and memories."

Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, described the purchase as "exciting".

"Bungie's world-class expertise in multi-platform development and live game services will help us deliver on our vision of expanding PlayStation to hundreds of millions of gamers," he said.

"Bungie is a great innovator and has developed incredible proprietary tools that will help PlayStation Studios achieve new heights under Hermen Hulst's leadership."

Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, said he was "absolutely thrilled" that Bungie was joining the PlayStation family.

"I've been a fan of Bungie for many years. I have admired and enjoyed the games that they create - and have great respect for their skill in building worlds that gamers want to explore again and again," he said.

"Bungie makes games with outstanding technology that are enormously fun to play."

The company has confirmed that plans for Destiny 2 remain unchanged and the game will continue to be supported on all platforms, including Microsoft's Xbox and Google's Stadia.

"Bungie's commitment to cross-platform play and social features remains unchanged," it wrote in a FAQ on its website.

"We believe games are best shared with friends, wherever they choose to play, and will continue to invest in new features and platforms."