Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), today announced a deal to acquire Bungie for $3.6 billion, the latest in a string of big-ticket consolidation deals in the games industry.
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After the deal closes, Bungie will be “an independent subsidiary” of SIE run by a board of directors consisting of current CEO and chairman Pete Parsons and the rest of the studio’s current management team.
It is widely believed that the acquisition is a strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience; and will help drive Bungie’s goals beyond games.
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Sony has said Bungie will remain a multiplatform studio, with the option “to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play.”
This would be the second time Bungie has been bought by a platform holder. Microsoft acquired the studio in June of 2000, securing its then-upcoming shooter Halo as an exclusive title for the original Xbox’s 2001 launch.
“We’ve had a strong partnership with Bungie since the inception of the Destiny franchise, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome the studio to the PlayStation family,” said SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan.
In addition, Sony has always supported the studio’s dual goals of making generation-spanning entertainment while staying creatively independent.
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