Sony announces plans to acquire Halo creator Bungie for $3.6 billion

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With Sony's support, Bungie's games "will take bold steps into unexplored spaces."

Destiny 2
Destiny 2 (Image credit: Bungie)

What you need to know

  • Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced its plans to buy Destiny 2 developer Bungie for $3.6 billion.
  • Bungie will continue to remain an independent developer and publisher, though it will be supported with resources from SIE.
  • Destiny 2, future Bungie games, and their features will remain multiplatform, though PlayStation users may get access to exclusive perks of some kind. However, this hasn't been confirmed.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced its plans to buy Destiny 2 developer Bungie for $3.6 billion, the latest in a series of large acquisition deals in the gaming industry.

The news has many wondering if Bungie's popular MMO-style looter shooter will become exclusive to PlayStation, but according to an official FAQ from Bungie, the game and its content will continue to remain fully multiplatform. Additionally, Destiny 2 features like Cross Save, Cross Play, and the Destiny 2 Companion App will continue to be compatible with all platforms. Additionally, Bungie has also confirmed that future games created by the studio will be available on all platforms as well.

Source: Bungie (Image credit: Source: Bungie)

According to statements made by Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, Bungie "remains in charge of its destiny" and will continue to develop and publish its games independently. SIE will act as support for the developer, assisting Bungie during its journey to "become a global multi-media entertainment company." In the short-term, the support from SIE will lead to a significant acceleration in hiring talent across the entirety of Bungie.

Based on a statement from SIE CEO Jim Ryan, Bungie will support future live service games from PlayStation Studios with its expertise. It's also possible that PlayStation players may eventually enjoy perks like timed (or permanent) exclusivity for in-game items. We may also see Destiny 2 and other future Bungie releases appear on PlayStation's planned Xbox Game Pass competitor.

Notably, this news follows Microsoft's recent announcement of its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for Xbox, as well as Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of mobile publisher Zynga.

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Brendan Lowry
Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).