What is happening this year?! Just weeks after Microsoft announced it was acquiring Activision for a little under $70 billion, Sony has now announced that it is acquiring Destiny (and former Halo) studio Bungie for $3.6 billion.
However, it's been confirmed that Bungie will remain a multiplatform studio with the ability "to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play." That means Destiny and future Bungie games will still be on Xbox.
In a message to fans, Bungie had the following to say about the acquisition:
"With SIE, the potential for our universes is unlimited. 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.
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 SIE's support, the most immediate change you will see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio to support our ambitious vision."
Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan has also been talking about the acquisition today, giving us a little insight into why Sony choose to buy Bungie. Here's what he had to say over on the Sony website:
"Bungie’s successful track record in multi-format publishing and live game services will assist us in realizing our ambitions to take PlayStation beyond the console and increase our potential audience. They will remain independent and multi-platform, will enjoy creative freedom, and their track record in developing massively successful franchises in the sci-fi shooter genre will be highly complementary to SIE’s own IP portfolio.
This is a strategic step towards continuing to evolve the gaming experiences that we build. Bungie’s expertise in delivering a world-class service approach and long-term community engagement is extremely compelling and will support the development of several future live services titles from PlayStation Studios. Equally, we see the exceptional skills that PlayStation Studios possess offers the potential to enhance Bungie’s existing and future IP portfolio."
So there you go! What a crazy month January has turned out to be. Give us your thoughts on this story down below.
[source sie.com]
Comments 95
That's a weird choice. Bungie didn't do well with their last two publishers. 3rd time the charm?
2022 is nuts, by December Disney will probably own them all anyway so no big deal!
Two things-
1) this is probably the thing MS was “leveraging” with keeping COD multi.
2) I don’t want hear “Sony only acquires studios that they work with” anymore. Bungie belonged to MS; can’t get anymore non-organic than that.
Not that I care; I’m glad it’s Sony buying them and not someone else.
"To self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play."
That's an interesting change...
Destiny is a hell of a drug.
Destiny is one of Phil Spencer's favorite games lmao
Sony could of chose Square Enix or Sega or even Capcom and they buy Bungie, this is crazy! What a waste of 3.6 billion.
Does this mean that Halo can come to PlayStation?
I genuinely don't see the point of this acquisition.
Bungie will keep making their games available on platforms outside of PlayStation.
Their main original IP is Destiny.
Destiny 2 is free-to-play.
Exactly what is PS users gaining here?
@mousieone @Savage_Joe As much as we like to think Bungie and MS have a bond their partnership ended over a decade ago. I'd be interested to know how many that are working there now are from the time MS was their publisher.
The only bond they truly had was Halo. MS shouldn't feel any negative feelings about it.
Just super strange that the company that fought free of Activision and MS jumps in with Sony. Just shows how much the company has changed.
Surely this is some kind of future leverage in terms of Activision games still being released on Sony platforms?
It does seem unfortunate the way Microsoft and Sony are going about this and not just investing in their own developers further (understand easier said than done though). While I think exclusives aren't a bad thing, generally it's better to have games playable across as many systems as possible, for everyones benefit.
@Snake_V5 it’s very strategic, not as much a waste as you might think. Destiny accrues hundreds of millions in revenue alone, and Sony will likely have them develop another shooter to remain competitive with the loss of COD (resistance, socom, who knows…) Sony also has aligned itself more to the western market and would have prioritized a team for shooters rather than rpgs like sqenix.
And yes, I believe Sony could retail the original trilogy after the ink dries, but fact check me on that one in case there’s some IP conditions.
@LtSarge like it or not, Destiny is printing money for them. And it has been growing over years, not slowing down. So, while not my personal cup of tea, company is profitable, on the rise, and has pedigree in FPS (where Sony might be preparing for COD leaving). It's a smart purchase
Weird move, but I guess they felt the need to respond to MS buying bigger studios.
People keep saying these companies should be investing in creating new studios but just look at how many acquisitions have taken place. If these major publishers weren't going doing this route I highly doubt there would be enough game developers to staff all these companies. Kinda how this has to go down.
@LtSarge Seems very defensive from Sony here to prevent MS, Google, Apple, Netflix etc. from snapping them up. Destiny also sells and makes a lot of money.
I'm sure there will be some exclusive items or timings somewhere.
Plus you will likely see their stock price jump.
@LtSarge It maybe down to revenue they'd lose out on as well as facing the anger of the millions of Bungie/Destiny fans they'd immediately alienate, the PR nightmare and repercussions and of course Sony also benefit from the marketing and the association of 'Destiny' as a 'Playstation owned' IP.
Its probably more financially beneficial to keep Destiny multi-platform too - although they could also benefit from some 'exclusive' content - an extra Strike/Raid/Cosmetics etc as they have before - as well as potentially any exclusivity on new IP's too.
Its not just about having 'exclusives' to sell the Platform, you can sell the Platform with 'Marketing' rights and Association. I don't know how many Consoles get sold through having CoD marketing on PS, but I bet it had a big impact...
@BAMozzy @themightyant @Cikajovazmaj So Sony is buying them primarily because of their revenue stream.
I'm usually all for acquisitions as long as they bring benefits for consumers. When Microsoft acquires a company, like Activision-Blizzard, that means a lot of older games will be added on Game Pass. Furthermore, all future titles will be added to Game Pass on day one. Plenty of benefits for me as an Xbox user.
Compare that with this acquisition, which is only beneficial for Sony and not for me as a PlayStation user. Don't really see how any of us should be excited for this as it literally doesn't change anything.
@LtSarge We don't know if there will be any benefits to PlayStation users. Perhaps the games will come to PS+ or Spartacus. Too soon to tell.
Moreover what it offers PS users is a guaranteed top FPS game on their platform. In this current climate of acquisitions that means something. The rules of engagement have changed.
Microsoft: we like cars, we're gonna buy Volkswagen and Toyota and Ford and Daimler, and we're gonna make all sorts of stuff for different customers!
Sony: Oh yeah? Then we're buying Tesla, and... and... yeah! Tech-bros yo!
I get that Sony is more focused on the Western market than its own, but it's a weird choice considering that it's basically Destiny 2 and the money it makes. It's also odd because Sony spends millions of $ on timed exclusivities but they want to leave Bungie as it is now. On top of that, Bungie has its own style and work philosophy so they left Microsoft and Activision as publishers and wanted to be fully independent so no, I don't understand this.
@Snake_V5 Microsoft acquired the Halo IP so Sony is not getting any Halo games.
I need to setup a game studio. These companies are buying anything that moves these days. 😄
@themightyant What are these "games" you speak of? Bungie is only developing Destiny and they've already said that they won't be releasing a new game in the series for many years to come as they want to keep supporting Destiny 2. Which is free-to-play!
Bungie was primarily a Halo developer and they got some IPs from the 90s, but other than that they don't have anything meaningful to bring to the table for us consumers. They'll continue being a multi-platform developer and they have barely any IPs. Even if they were bought to keep them away from Microsoft and other publishers, it's still one IP.
This is genuinely one of the most pointless acquisitions for PS users.
Weird to see Bungie owned by Playstation..
Also worth baring in mind these deals take months or years to make. This won't have been a response to Activision Blizzard, but more likely Bethesda.
@LtSarge Destiny 2 is due to finish in 2024. They've already talked about hiring for their next project for a few years. This announcement also talks about hiring for future projects.
I'm sure they have their reasons and strategies, even if they aren't clear now. You don't drop $3billion needlessly.
Plus in an amusing twist Phil Spencer's most played game is now a SIE game. lol
Sony to Microsoft - Keep CoD multiplat and we’ll do the same with Bungie games 😉
My understanding from many rumors is that Bungie had been wanting to be acquired for years now, but Microsoft didn’t feel they were worth the asking price.
What would they get? All they done since they left Microsoft is Destiny, and that is already multi-platform. And now it sounds like absolute independence was a condition to sell.
Still, if they can make Resistance or Kill Zone return with a bang, I’m all for it. Destiny isn’t my jam, though.
@Savage_Joe I’m pretty sure Microsoft passed on this acquisition first. You can bet they had a change to buy them.
@themightyant But that's the thing, you've already given a good reason for why Sony acquired them, which is that they've secured an IP that gives Sony an increased revenue stream. It totally makes sense. I'm just stating that this is such a poor acquisition for PS users.
I mean, just look at how many games Bungie has released since 2010 after Halo Reach. Two! They've released two games in 12 years and if they're ending Destiny 2 in 2024, then that'll be 14 years. I'm sorry, but Bungie is basically like Rockstar now. We'll be getting a new game once in a blue moon.
Too bad, Destiny 2 will stay until 2025-ish.
As I said when there was talk about MS buying them, Bungie just isn't worth owning anymore. Especially not for 3.6 billion.
Even if Bungie stated as condition to remain independent and I'm sure that they value their independence because that's what they always say, once the acquisition has been completed they'll be owned by Sony and Sony will decide what to do with them, change the leadership and even close the studio, they won't but they could.
I don't know why Bungie are so sure that everything will be like they want forever. Once the acquisition has been completed, they don't have that power anymore. I say this not because of Sony but because of Bungie's statements about Microsoft and Activision and about being independent and today's statement about being part of Sony. Sony will fully own the studio in one year or so and they should realise what that means.
@LtSarge I think saying they've only released two games in 12 years, while accurate, is also a little disingenuous. Destiny is a live service. There have been consistent updates and around 10 large expansions over that time.
I'm not an online FPS player but if I was, and only had PlayStation, I would be happier today knowing that Destiny and Bungie games will keep coming out on PlayStation considering all the moves recently. Not least since Destiny and Bungie are on an absolute high right now.
Regardless not all acquisitions and investments have to immediately benefit players, it's part of a larger strategy like when Sony invested in Discord or Epic or BiliBilli. 5 or 10 year plans.
@Savage_Joe you do know this deal was in the works for months and is on no way a knee jerk reaction to Activision right? Also Microsoft was also in the running for buying Bungie a while back but backed out because they wanted to much i believe.
Great for Sony, hopefully it brings in a lot of cash to help fund future developments.
Maybe Sony will have an exclusive FPS again. I do wish both companies would slow down some though (especially MS), we don’t need every developer under an umbrella. Though if it’s between Sony/MS and Tencent, I’ll take Sony or MS.
I gave up Destiny a year ago. In the words of Boromir in Fellowship Of The Ring:
“I care not”
@RedShirtRod well rumors about Bungie wanting to be acquired have been around for over a year. They even approached MS late 2020. But I’m sure MS and them had reasons. Either way I think Sonys a good fit for Bungie. They’d be only FPS house, and they’d get more funding to do non Destiny things. Not negative there.
However, my grip is with the narrative Sony only buys organically like video game devs are some kind of fruit and, it’s like Grocery store. Sony tried to acquire the publisher that houses studios like Splash Damage but Tencent beat them to it. Bottom line even Sony is a business not your local grocery store.
Sony, like Microsoft, is realizing the benefit of having multiplatform games. To maximize profits for games like Call of Duty and Destiny, they need to be available to as many people as possible.
@mousieone Another thing that I don't understand is when they say that Sony make games and Microsoft don't so Microsoft have to acquire studios. This is not true at all. Sony didn't develop games either. They made PS1 because Nintendo cancelled SNES CD that Sony developed. The best PS1 games were not made by Sony. Then Sony started acquiring studios (and closing a few) because of the success of their consoles.
This is just a kick in the nuts to MS. They're mad because of buyout of activision/blizzard. It's basically a 1up. But, MS is the winner because of all the other studios in the deal.
Ah, see what you've done Microsoft? You're causing an acquisition war. And all it will do is further divide the industry.
I was/am against the acquisition of Zenimax and Activision and as a PlayStation fan I'm also against this.
Hopefully this will cause Sony and Microsoft to come to an arrangement where games can be shared that will bring online gamers together. Even though I don't play CoD but have and sometimes still play Destiny.
I have a friend on Xbox who plays Destiny so just share CoD and Destiny.
This is getting ridiculous and all it does is hurt gamers, not help them.
@LtSarge
To be fair the same could be said about Zenimax and Activision. What were Xbox gamers gaining on games they could already play but taken away from two other platforms?
For the record I'm against both Sony and Microsoft for these big acquisitions.
This is more like it from Sony, keeping destiny as leverage and also getting bungie to create new exclusive ip's on the side
Also though on a side note for me personally are bungie worth that much? Just for 1 IP?
I'm actually disappointed that they could of spent that money on a bigger developer with a more diverse library such as square enix, sega or capcom.
Also if Phil didn't ring the PlayStation bosses a couple of weeks ago I dare say this message from bungie would read differently
@GADG3Tx87 MS didn’t start it. It was companies like Tencent. Or are we going to ignore the fact the own quite a bit of Multiplayer estate?
That's honestly Microsofts fault. They spilt on very bad terms. Bet tried to buy and bungie said. Nope
@UltimateOtaku91 Microsoft didn't call PS, it was PS who called Microsoft the day after Activision's deal was announced to ask about the deal. The multiplatform thing seems to be a condition of Bungie, that left Microsoft and Activision because they wanted to be independent. They didn't even want to have a publisher.
@mousieone
Tencent didn't buy up two huge publishers and put them behind a paywall and lock out two other major platforms.
If it's to help gamers, and Phil doesn't care where you play games then don't take them away from people. It doesn't benefit consumers who could already play them and it just hurts the ones who did and now can't.
That goes for both Sony and Microsoft.
2022 is gonna be wild.
@Banjo- sony aren't bungie's publishers though they are their owners, I don't see why they don't want help advertising their games etc I didn't think publishers could influence the actual game content like Sony can
@GADG3Tx87 Epic and Riot are small? And literally it cost 15 dollars to play a game on your phone that cheaper than playing a game on console at full price.
@UltimateOtaku91 Once the acquisition has been completed (in a year or so), Sony is free to do whatever they want to do, change the leadership of Bungie, etc. There's nothing that the current Bungie can do about that in the future. You say that Bungie is their own publisher, well, the whole Bungie including the publishing arm will be acquired.
@mousieone
Who would want to play Elder Scrolls on a phone?
If these platform holders are doing it 'for the gamers' and 'for the industry' then don't lock each other out of games they could play before if all it's for is to stop Tencent, Google and Facebook etc.
That's what I'm saying.
I'm not trying to start an argument or be hostile btw but everytime this happens I get concerned for the industry getting further divided up.
Bungie is so confused. They wanted to go independent because they were tired of working on Halo for a decade under the thumb of a publisher... so they proceed to work on a new ip for the next decade under one of the worst publishers. Now they are re-acquired by a publisher that arguably is even more stringent. LOL. Sweet child.
@GADG3Tx87 “Who wants to play by phone”
It’s gaining traction
https://www.pocketgamer.com/android/xbox-cloud-gaming-touch-screen-one-fifth/
And then there is fact you can PC stream to a potato laptop or use a tablet. TV can’t be far behind. That’s opening options not closing them.
@GADG3Tx87 Tencent has been quietly buying influencing-to-controlling shares of publishers. That's China's way. That's how the CCP obtains global power. They almost never purchase full companies, that draws too much attention and scrutiny, and is a waste of resources when all they want is control and ownership doesn't buy any more control than controlling stakes to own the boardroom and the lobby influence. They buy just enough to hide behind the radar and dictate to the board what will be, dictate how the company's lobby will be used to influence foreign governments. We live in a world they own, and they 100% bought none of it.
Companies Tencent currently holds significant stakes in so as to influence, if not dominate the boardroom:
Epic
Riot
Nintendo
Ubisoft
Sumo
Supercell
Don'tnod
Bloober
Marvelous
Frontier
Kadokawa (Fromsoft, Spike-Chunsoft)
Acti-Bliz (Not for long!!)
Paradox
Remedy
Discord (percent stake not listed)
Platinum (percent stake not listed)
That's not everything, but that's a listing of the names most familiar in core gaming circiles they own noteworthy stake in to at minimum hold sway over the board, at maximum control the board depending on entity. Their control in the industry can't be understated, and the industry is right to fear their influence.
It's not just gaming. Most people don't understand how much control the CCP holds through their front companies over western governments through their control from behind the stock exchange of western business. From finance to real estate to media their control is myriad.
@GADG3Tx87 It's both things, Microsoft do want games to be available on more platforms, it's true. An Xbox app is planned for TVs. At the same time, it's a business and they want Xbox to have as many customers as possible to stand strong against the other big players in the market.
@isturbo1984 LOL Next thing they become part of Nintendo and Nintendo makes them work on Mario vs. DK for smartphones and Switch.
@mousieone
Maybe to 'casuals' and I use that term lightly but a big open world game like Elder Scrolls and Fallout, or an mmo shooter like Destiny? No way that's a good experience on a tiny screen.
At the end of the day dividing the industry is not good for gamers as a whole, surely you understand that?
Again, if Sony and Microsoft are doing it to help the industry then come to an arrangement to not to lock each other out.
What if Sony did get Capcom? I wouldn't want to see Xbox fans lose Resident Evil. What if Microsoft bought Sega? I don't want to lose Yakuza.
In the end we're the ones who lose.
@Banjo-
If Microsoft wants as many customers as possible, and consoles make pretty much no money from sales then it would be smart to tap into Sony's very large user base.
I've said before it would be smart to have GamePass on Xbox for the benefit of their primary customers and still publish games to PlayStation but make them pay full price. It's a win-win for Microsoft for those who won't leave.
The same goes for anything Sony squires. As I said to the other poster, what if Sony actually did acquire Capcom? I don't want Xbox to lose an IP like Resident Evil. What if MS bought Sega? I don't want to lose Yakuza.
Even if destiny was exclusive it's no big loss since you pay for DLC they then take away. Kinda scam in my eyes. Plus their DLC is overpriced and lacking in content.
@GADG3Tx87 I love how people use the term “casuals” like they aren’t those ones spending the most money overall and driving the market.
I don’t like consolidation but my point was over you claiming people were “locked out”. Freeing a game from the confines of Consoles is the exact opposite of this.
@Snake_V5 Why would it? Halo is a Microsoft game, Bunjee has nothing to do with it. Maybe Destiny 3 will be an exclusive though.
@GADG3Tx87 "If Microsoft wants as many customers as possible, and consoles make pretty much no money from sales then it would be smart to tap into Sony's very large user base".
It would be smart if Sony did the same. Sony only publish their games for their current console with limited backwards compatibility and have started to publish for Windows recently. On Xbox the backwards compatibility goes as far as licence and technology allow and then you have Game Pass basically on any other device, why it has to be a PS5 console specifically? It's the only platform that is clearly competing with Microsoft so it wouldn't make sense. If people can only choose one platform, at least Xbox is more consumer-friendly, cheaper in the long term and more available elsewhere. Actually, I think that Microsoft would love to release a Game Pass app for PS but it's Sony that don't want to.
@mousieone
We are locked out. When can I play Fallout 5 on PlayStation? I can't. When can you play Spider-Man on Xbox? You can't.
If you exclude a game from a platform, even if it goes to a phone or a PC etc someone is locked out.
As for 'casuals' I said I use that term loosely for lack of a better way to define it.
@GADG3Tx87 If Sony accepts GamePass on PS then yeah I would expect GamePass games on the PS... I just can't see Sony accepting that.
@Banjo-
It would make sense. Sony has around 100million customers. Microsoft charging full price to them, especially the stubborn ones who won't switch only makes them more money.
And yes, I already said Sony should do the same. Dividing people from hardware that barely makes any money is not worthwhile anymore.
Again, would you want to lose a big IP to PlayStation? Because I sure as hell don't want to lose anything and most people have s preference on where to play.
If by consumer friendly you mean putting games on PC then Sony has started that too with a different approach. As gamers acquisitions don't benefit anyone if you can't have more than one platform for whatever reason. For some people it is not financially viable.
For myself I have serious mental health issues in which even simple things like this cause me anxiety and even sometimes epileptic Seizures over stress because I don't cope well with choices among other things.
@GADG3Tx87 it’s not locked out. You are so focused on your little plastic box to see it’s opening platforms up. Right now devs don’t have the cloud infrastructure, many of their games are locked onto machines that are difficult to even find with huge price tags. And the games themselves are super expensive.
As a point, I regularly stream Xbox games via cloud. If Sony had a similar service and cloud structure with the games I want to play, I do that too. Sony being on Azure, should make that a reality.
@GADG3Tx87 Then relax and don't think too much! Live the present because what tomorrow brings only the future knows. Live and don't think. No, I don't want Sony to acquire Capcom, Square Enix or Sega but I think it's very unlikely.
These acquisitions are early in the generation. Most people are still playing on last-gen consoles (including Switch) and now customers can make a better choice knowing what they know. It would be nice to play all games on one console but, right now, it's easier and cheaper to play Xbox games than PS and Nintendo games.
@mousieone
So again when can you play Spider-Man without buying a PlayStation if you, hypothetically' only play on one platform? You can't. Therefore Xbox users are locked out of it. I don't know why this is difficult to understand.
You say 'too focused on a plastic box' not everyone has the ability to have more than one platform.
It's that simple. That's how exclusives, work. Even if it's only one platform that can't have it.
Again, what about people like myself who have serious mental health issues and can't cope with even things like this that might seem minor to some, but is damaging to some?
What are we supposed to do?
In the end it benefits everyone. Companies make more money by opening their games to every single place they can and users get to play anything anywhere.
@Banjo-
I wish it was that easy. I have epilepsy, bipolar disorder and autism. A terrible combination so day to day life is crappy and very difficult for me. I'm on enough medication that I could open my own pharmacy. (lol).
Gaming is my only means of escape and enjoyment and things like this are upsetting. I had hoped other people could see that.
I think we as gamers should care about what's best for us as a whole, and not the companies that don't care about us deep down and their primary goal is money. Of course I understand that's how business works though, I just wish it didn't have to be like this and wish, if these platform holders really are 'trying to save the industry' then let everyone play.
@GADG3Tx87 Don't overthink. Try to enjoy the present moment and the games you have access to right now. Have you played Viva Piñata? It's a game that helped me when I was going through difficult times. I think it's therapeutic. You can also try a sport that you can play and set up a small aquarium in your bedroom.
I find this a baffling buy and also expensive for what they are getting....can't say I feel anything...even if they had a service like gamepass.....the only game they have is Destiny....which I own and I don't even like lol
@uptownsoul I suppose it feels pointless because they won't be exclusive...just don't see the real logic from any angle.....I'm sure destiny numbers have dwindled year on year ...hardly bringing in cod money...so Its not exactly a cash cow and they aren't going to be exclusive....i don't really get it
@Banjo-
No I've never played Viva Piñyata. My 'relaxing' game is Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Some people laugh at that but I like the music tracks.
I unfortunately don't have any family, my last family member, my mother died last February. My psychiatrist keeps in regular contact and that's about the only human interaction I get these days. That and I took in my mother's dog because I live alone.
@StylesT I read a post over at Push Square where someone compared this deal to the ZeniMax one:
"Sony paid $3.6 billion for one studio that owns one IP.
Microsoft paid $7.5 billion for 8 studios with 11 IPs.
Either Sony got ripped off or Microsoft got one hell of a deal."
I wholeheartedly agree with this. Because seriously, that's a whole lot of money for a whole lot of nothing if we look at it from a consumer perspective. And the thing is, ZeniMax has studios that are constantly pumping out new IPs, like Deathloop, Ghostwire Tokyo, Redfall and Starfield. Bungie will be working on one IP until 2024 and then who knows what will happen. Absolutely ridiculous.
I also read that Sega's market cap is just as much as what Sony paid for Bungie! If you're going to acquire a company, you might as well go for ones like Sega. They have so many dormant IPs that need revival and I'm personally hoping that Microsoft acquires Sega so that they can restore these great franchises.
@GADG3Tx87 I'm sorry but keep going. You'll meet more people and also feel better when alone eventually. Take your time and you'll be fine. Believe me 👍🏻😊.
I very curious to see if Sony will use Bungie to breath life into Resistance or even Killzone(Guerilla games are going to milk Horizon for awhile).
Bungie's experience could help alot of small Sony studios.
@GADG3Tx87
I bought the collection and all I have to say is it was worth it.
I like them by this order
Persona 3
Persona 4
Persona 5
I thought 3 & 4 had the better tracks to play over and over.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this. 3.6 billion for Bungie? I don’t know if that was a good deal. It feels more like a quick response to the Activision Blizzard acquisition. I also don’t know how well the developers at Bungie are going to respond to this. The developers there don’t really do well with being told what to do. They like to have some freedom and Sony has been making their studios focus on specific games. But maybe I am wrong. Maybe Sony really will leave them independent. Just doesn’t seem likely to me.
@LtSarge Destiny has made over $6 billion to date.
@EvilSilentFrame Sony already said Bungie will remain independant, i guess they’ll just have more cash to throw at makin games now. One thing PS lacks is good fps, Bungie make good fps an Destiny has made over $6 billion to date!!
@uptownsoul I think this is a trial run to see how this will work. If both sides manage it well; I think we’ll see a lot more of the games jump the fence.
There has been a lot of talk of sony wanting to expand their fps offerings so this seems like a great move in that direction. The market also seems ripe for buy-outs at the moment which might be spurring more of these conversations.
@sjbsixpack yeah I saw that Sony said Bungie would remain independent. I just don’t know if Sony will follow through with that. They might at the start, but then tell the teams we want you all supporting such and such game instead or you can’t create a sequel to your latest release. I’m not knocking Sony or Bungie. I guess I would say I’m skeptical what the outcome will be.
@Microbius even more baffling if the ps fans who think that Sony will use destiny as leverage to keep cod on ps consoles ....oh no Xbox will lose a IP how will they cope ? Poor Microsoft employees must b scared sh**less not knowing if they will have a job if they lose destiny lol
@LtSarge I think Sony acquired Bungie for live service expertise. Playstation Studios are best known for their single player games but all signs seem to be pointing towards Sony wanting to expand into live service though they have no experience in that area.
Bungie was probably the biggest live service studio Sony could afford (Destiny 2 is a huge live service game) so with the acquisition Bungie may help the already existing Playstation Studios create live service games such as helping Naughty Dog with TLoU Factions 2.
@uptownsoul lol even if I didn't own a ps5(I do) I wouldn't be fussed if Destiny went exclusive....if cod and destiny both go exclusive...Microsoft wins in terms of money made and players playing lol
@Rural-Bandit Thank you, buddy!
@Martsmall Yep that's weird. It's not like Microsoft needs a future Bungie IP and Destiny 2 is on Xbox since 2017. The Call of Duty contract that Sony signed expires next year. Call of Duty is along with FIFA the best-selling video game every year.
@EvilSilentFrame Exactly.
@EvilSilentFrame yeah, i think exact same bout Activision games. Phil Spencer says COD will remain multi platform an contracts will be honoured but then what? He also said after the Bethesda acquisition he didn’t wanna take Bethesda games from gamers, 2 week later they announced exclusivity. I don’t know if all this is a good thing or not. I mean i own both XSX an PS5 so any games that come to Game Pass is a win but i can see it getting where 3rd party games don’t exist anymore, just exclusives an if ya wanna play all you must have both machines.
@Banjo- Destiny 2 is the second biggest fps franchise in USA after COD. It has a huge player base, 700000 active players daily.
@sjbsixpack The issue I may see in the future for PlayStation and Bungie is the whole “independent “ situation. Sony doesn’t really give their developers much freedom. Their developers will want to work on a certain game, and Sony has gone in and changed their plans. Or forced them to just be support on a different game. This isn’t going to work with Bungie. They left Microsoft for this very reason because they didn’t want to only focus on Halo. If I’m not mistaken, they left Apple before Microsoft. That’s why I am not sure if this acquisition is going to work out or is worth the 3.6 billion price tag.
I’m not too focused on “if they’ll remain multi platform” later on down the road, but I do have opinions on this as well. Companies are buying to secure games to their platform. If they choose to be multi, the more that get to play and enjoy. Microsoft buying Bethesda and Activision, the games will still be available on more than just Xbox. There’s computer and mobile. They are not closing it in to just “Xbox.” Sony has only recently starting putting their games onto PC. I think they realized there’s a market there to make money and are going for that as well. If Sony decides to pull their support from Bungie games on Xbox, their statement on multi platform can still hold true if they were to keep it on PlayStation and PC.
I see this move more as a strategy move to answer the Activision acquisition. It’s not as big of an answer. I think it’s more of Sony’s way of trying to say “if you share some of your games, we will share some of ours.” But the whole multi platform really wasn't what my focus was on. It was more on if 3.6 billion was worth it, and will Sony really keep Bungie “independent.” I hope I am wrong and it works out between the two, but I think Sony is going to want control and tell Bungie what to do. It’s not going to be welcomed by the developers at Bungie.
@EvilSilentFrame i think the reason Sony bought Bungie is to make a competitive, online fps. That’s the one thing Xbox is better at imo an Sony want to challenge them in online gaming. Bungie have a decent CV eith early Halo’s an the Destiny games. I don’t think Sony buying Bungie has anything to with the Activision deal. Buying a billion dollar company takes months, maybe longer. This will have been ongoing before snyone knew about Activision.
@sjbsixpack it might have been going on for months, it just looked like a direct response to the MS Activision deal. If Sony wants them for some online fps help, that’s one thing. As long as Sony lets them do what they want to do. Again, the thing to me that I see a potential issue is Sony letting them be independent because Sony doesn’t just do that. Maybe seeing how Xbox is doing business now with their developers might have changed how Sony is now going to approach their own teams as well. There’s just been too many reports that have come out recently where Sony has stopped development with one team to work on something completely different. That’s where I see an issue for Bungie. That and the purchase price. Bungie is a good developer but 3.6 billion for just Bungie, sounds too much to me.
@EvilSilentFrame i get ya point but it def wasn’t a response to Activision, it takes a long, long time to buy a $ 3 billion company. An it’s hardly comparable, Activision cost like 20 times more. For me Sony devs make incredible games and Sony 100% know what they’re doing. Microsoft can do thing with future in mind and take big losses to get things started, Sony can’t so much. I have total faith in Sony.
@sjbsixpack I have faith Sony can make great games. They already do. Bungie and Sony to me just seemed like a clash waiting to happen. I hope I’m wrong though. I hope both Bungie and Sony flourish with this acquisition.
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