Sony to acquire ‘Halo’ creator Bungie for $3.6 billion

Bungie has created some of the video game industry’s most highly-acclaimed franchises, including Marathon, Myth, Halo, and Destiny.

February 01, 2022 05:29 pm | Updated 05:39 pm IST

Sony to acquire ‘Halo’ creator Bungie for $3.6 billion.

Sony to acquire ‘Halo’ creator Bungie for $3.6 billion.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the Japanese conglomerate’s video game and digital entertainment firm, has agreed to buy Bungie, a leading independent video game developer for $3.6 billion.

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The PlayStation maker’s announcement comes two weeks after Xbox maker Microsoft said it plans to buy Activision Blizzard, in the biggest gaming industry deal valued at nearly $70 billion . SIE noted that this acquisition will give it access to Bungie’s world-class approach to live game services and technology expertise.

“This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience. We understand how vital Bungie’s community is to the studio and look forward to supporting them,” SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan, said in a statement.

Bungie, which has created some of the video game industry’s most highly-acclaimed franchises, including Marathon, Myth, Halo, and Destiny, will remain multi-platform. It’s currently focused on the long-term development of Destiny 2, expanding the Destiny universe.

The Bellevue, Washington-based firm will be an independent subsidiary of SIE and run by its Board of Directors chaired by Pete Parsons and Bungie’s current management team, according to SIE.

“We will continue pursuing our vision of one, unified Bungie community, building games that value our community and meet them wherever and however they choose to play,” Bungie CEO and Chairman Pete Parsons, said in a statement.

January was a big month for gaming deals with transactions worth $85 billion, which includes Take-Two Interactive’s plans to acquire Zynga for $12.7 billion.

Besides, last year, SIE made some acquisitions to bolster PlayStation Studios, furthering its vision to reach billions of players, in an increasingly competitive industry.

It acquired God of War maker Valkyrie Entertainment; Bluepoint Games, known for highly-acclaimed remakes and remasters; UK-based video game studio Firesprite Limited; Nixxes Software, a Dutch company specialising in video game design and porting; as well as Returnal maker Housemarque.

Also Read | Microsoft strides into the gaming metaverse

Microsoft’s deal with Activision Blizzard, when closed, would make it the world’s third-largest gaming firm by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

The global gaming industry recorded revenues of $180.3 billion last year, with the number expected to touch $218.8 billion by 2024, as per data analytics firm Newzoo.

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