Sony announces acquisition of Bungie for $3.6 billion
Half a month ago, Microsoft announced the acquisition of the gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $95 per share, with a total transaction value of $68.7 billion, which is also the most expensive acquisition in Microsoft’s history. After the acquisition, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest game company after Tencent and Sony.
Microsoft’s move threw a blockbuster in the gaming world, with arch-rival Sony clearly feeling the pinch. Microsoft’s move threw a blockbuster in the gaming world, with arch-rival Sony clearly feeling the pinch. Subsequent reports of a Call of Duty franchise on the PlayStation platform and the fall in Sony’s stock price showed concerns about Sony’s prospects. In fact, Sony has also acquired a number of game studios/developers in the past period of time, but not as big as Microsoft.
Today Sony announced the acquisition of Bungie for $3.6 billion, perhaps the game industry is accelerating consolidation. Bungie’s core is the “Destiny” series, and it is also the original creator of “Halo”, and it also has a deep relationship with Microsoft. Founded in 1991, Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000 to develop the Halo series. However, it separated from Microsoft in 2007 and became an independent company, but Microsoft still retained a minority stake and continued to cooperate in developing the market, but the IP of “Halo” was left to Microsoft. In addition to Microsoft, Bungie has strong ties to Activision Blizzard, which was in charge of the former’s game publishing business from 2010 to 2019.
Now Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have come together, but Bungie, who is closely associated with it, has become a Sony person. After the transaction closes, Bungie will become an independent subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, and management will also be retained. As for the game exclusivity that players care about, Sony said that Bungie will still operate independently and follow a multi-platform strategy.
