Bungie, known for being the originator of the flagship Xbox license, Halo and game destiny, is expected to join Sony. the studio and thejapanese company confirmed on January 31. The operation is estimated by the specialized site gamesindustry.biz to 3.6 billion dollars (3.2 billion euros).
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When this takeover was announced, it was difficult not to think of that of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for 68.7 billion dollars, revealed a few weeks earlier. Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said it was not a response to its competitor, arguing that such an operation is the culmination of several months of discussion. Players in the video game sector are however engaged in a race to enrich their catalogs.
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In September 2020, the acquisition for 7.5 billion dollars of Zenimax by Microsoft, owner of Betesda at the origin of Doom, The Elder Scrolls, fallout, had not worried Sony too much. The Japanese company, with its hugely successful single-player games, Uncharted and The Last of Us by Naughty Dog, Spiderman and Ratchet & Clank from insomniac Games or god of war of Santa Monica, was sure of the superiority of its catalog.
By getting its hands on Activision Blizzard, Microsoft threatens to deprive the PlayStation of call of duty, one of the most popular video game licenses. Despite Redmond’s reassuring words, this prospect has worried the land of the Rising Sun. The two companies are moving towards a Netflix model of video games where Microsoft seems to have a head start with its Xbox Game Pass. No way for Sony, the second largest video game company in the world ahead of its American competitor, to be overwhelmed.
With Bungie, Sony hopes to fill a blind spot in its line of home games. Known for its titles with rich single-player modes, the company lacks regularly updated multiplayer games such as destiny. As Jim Ryan explains, the studio ” has deep expertise in delivering incredible immersive community experiences at scale, with games that evolve and grow over time “.
Bungie complements Sony’s other studios well. Credit: Asylab / Sony
With Bungie, Sony acquires the studio that contributed to the success of Microsoft’s Xbox
Bungie, born in 1991, was once owned by Microsoft. Acquired in 2000, the studio gained a solid reputation among gamers with the release of Halo in 2001, an Xbox exclusive. The license is still held by Microsoft, now developed by in-house studio 343 Industries, Bungie regained independence in 2007.
Three years later, the studio has taken on an ambitious new game, destiny, in partnership with… Activision Blizzard. When Bungie broke up in the summer of 2018, he left this time with the rights to his game, which had two titles released in 2014 and 2017.
Like Microsoft with call of duty, Sony has pledged to let Bungie “ independent and cross-platform “. In both cases, the credit to be given to this commitment may raise questions in the medium or long term. To avoid offending the competition authorities, existing licenses should be available on all consoles, but it could be different for future titles.