In response for Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition

Jan 31, 2022 19:11 GMT  ·  By

After Microsoft announced it has acquired Activision-Blizzard earlier this month (pending deal closure), Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed today plans to buy Bungie, the studio behind the Destiny franchise.

Unlike Microsoft which paid $70 billion for the acquisition, Sony will “only” pay $3.6 billion for its new studio. According to a blog post on Sony’s website, President and CEO of SIE says that Bungie will remain “an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher.”

In Sony, we have found a partner who unconditionally supports us in all we are and who wants to accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment, all while preserving the creative independence that beats in Bungie’s heart. Like us, Sony believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become. Together, we share a dream of creating and fostering iconic franchises that unite friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across multiple platforms and entertainment mediums,” said Pete Parson, CEO of Bungie.

Bungie operated under Microsoft for many years but decided to go independent back in 2007. After a not so successful 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard, Bungie continued to function as a fully independent studio, and it seems that it will continue to do so even after being bought by SIE.

The announcement shouldn’t affect Destiny fans in the slightest, although we can’t help but wonder if Bungie will continue to release Destiny content on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles going forward. Despite saying that Bungie will remain a “multi-platform studio,” SIE’s Jim Ryan doesn’t makes any mention of Xbox, so that could just as well mean Destiny will continue on PlayStation and PC.

It looks like gamers are caught in the middle of a war between Microsoft and Sony. Both Activision Blizzard and Bungie are great picks for these gaming industry giants, but what’s really exciting is that Microsoft and Sony confirmed more acquisitions will be announced soon. So, place your bets please on what company will be acquired next.