Sony spent $1.2B to retain key Bungie talent as part of acquisition deal

pcgamer.com:

It's not uncommon for game company acquisitions, especially big ones, to result in layoffs. Fortunately for employees of Bungie, Sony's recent acquisition of the studio doesn't appear headed in that direction. A Washington Post report says Bungie leadership assured employees that there will be «absolutely no layoffs» and no «major» restructuring once the deal is finalized, and in fact roughly one-third of the $3.6 billion Sony spent on Bungie will go toward ensuring that employees stick around.

That figure comes from Sony's Q3 2021 financial statement, which understandably spends a good bit of space on the Bungie buyout, and puts particular emphasis on the fact that Sony is interested in a lot more than just the Destiny franchise.

«The strategic significance of this acquisition lies not only in obtaining the highly successful Destiny franchise, as well as major new IP that Bungie is currently developing, but also in incorporating into the Sony Group the expertise and technology that Bungie has developed in the live game services space,» the report says. «We intend to utilize these strengths when developing game IP at the PlayStation Studios and as we expand into the live game services arena.»

Sony said it plans to launch more than 10 live service games by its 2025 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026, and it intends to rely heavily on the «wealth of experience and superb technology in the space» Bungie has earned with the Destiny franchise to help make it happen. It's also going to rely on Bungie's expertise to help it continue its expansion onto non-PlayStation platforms.

«We view the deployment of our game IP on multiple platforms as a major growth opportunity for Sony, as has been evidenced by the success of the