Sony completes $3.6 billion deal to buy Bungie

engadget.com:

The developer behind Destiny is now a part of the Sony universe. Sony Interactive Entertainment officially closed on a $3.6 billion deal today to buy the independent game studio and publisher Bungie, according to tweets from both Bungie and PlayStation Studios. Under the terms of the acquisition, Bungie will still maintain creative control over its operations and independently develop its games. As leaders from both companies have noted since the deal was announced in January, Bungie will be considered an independent subsidiary of Sony and won’t be required to make either current or future games exclusive to PlayStation consoles.

We are proud to officially join the incredible team at PlayStation, we are excited for the future of our company, and we are inspired to bring together players from all over the world to form lasting friendships and memories.Per Audacia ad Astra! https://t.co/trVT3s0BTE pic.twitter.com/YQbnLrnAQW

As TechCrunch noted, Sony is hoping Bungie’s expertise with games like Destiny will help it expand its own live service game offerings. The company plans to spend 55 percent of PlayStation’s budget on live service games by 2025, revealed Sony CEO Jim Ryan at a May investor presentation. PlayStation plans on releasing 10 live service games before March 2026, and Sony believes Bungie’s assistance will be crucial in this effort.

Sony this week also closed on a deal to acquire Montreal-based Haven Studios, which is working on a multiplayer title for PlayStation. And Sony is far from finished. The company plans to acquire even more studios over the next few years in a bid to grow its live service and PC offerings, as Ryan has noted in several interviews. And on the Xbox side, Microsoft’s $68.7 billion