PlayStation Studios Acquires Bungie

After a massive buyout of developer/publisher company Activision/Blizzard by industry giant Microsoft earlier, console players were wondering whether Sony would make a move and end up buying Capcom, Sega or Take-Two Interactive.

A newly released Sony press release reveals Halo and Destiny franchise creator studio Bungie will join PlayStation family soon as PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst makes an official announcement of acquisition for $3.6 billion deal.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan heavily emphasize to Bungie still remaining as an independent and multi-platform studio. He also claims that Bungie will have freedom to self-publish games across any platform of their choice.

Bungie CEO Pete Parsons states that joining PlayStation family will allow them to be lot more ambitious with any future games. As they continue cross-platform support for Destiny 2 and upcoming projects won't be PlayStation-exclusive.

PlayStation buyout of Bungie a first-party studio is historically significant as they used to be an Xbox team in early 2000s. They revolutionized original Xbox consoles by developing Halo series for a decade before leaving and joined Activision.

Bungie eventually parted ways with Activision in 2019 to become independent before getting acquired by Sony recently. Xbox head Phil Spencer said earlier that Microsoft could have kept Bungie only if they had current leadership aboard.

Though people may consider Sony buying Bungie is a response to Xbox acquiring Activision, it was likely in works for long. Last year, they revealed multimedia ambitions for Destiny 2 series and plans to bring at least one new IP before 2025.

Bungie confirming existing and future games in development to stay multi-platform and not as exclusives is great sigh of relief for fans. Call of Duty will also release at least three more games on PlayStation consoles because of early contracts.