Sony to acquire 'Halo' creator Bungie for $3.6 billion

Bungie will join Sony's PlayStation line-up, but retain its independence and freedom to create titles for other platforms

Japanese tech giant Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced on Monday that it is buying Bungie, creator of the popular Halo franchise, in a deal worth $3.6 billion.

Bungie will join Sony's PlayStation line-up after the deal closes, although it will continue to operate independently, maintaining its ability to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play - be it PlayStation, Xbox, PC or another medium.

A board of directors will oversee the new business, which will include existing CEO and chair Pete Parsons, as well as other members of the studio's present management team.

The acquisition will help Sony to reach a wider audience with new games, in a tough market where it competes with Microsoft's Xbox.

"This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience," said SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan.

Ryan added that Sony recognises the importance of Bungie's community to the studio, and looks forward to assisting Bungie as they remain independent and continue to grow.

Sony is expected to use Bungie's expertise in developing more expansive and long-running live streaming titles, like Destiny 2.

Sony is known for its high-budget single-player games, such as Ghost of Tsushima, God of War and The Last of Us. However, it lacks persistent online titles like Destiny and Fortnite, which are regularly updated to retain player interest.

Bungie CEO Pete Parsons said the studio sees SIE as a partner "who unconditionally supports us" and wants to "accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment."

"Together, we share a dream of creating and fostering iconic franchises that unite friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across multiple platforms and entertainment mediums."

Bungie, which worked on the Halo series when owned by Microsoft, was split off as an independent firm in 2007. The studio has since worked on a number of titles including Destiny, which it released in 2013 to great success.

At present, the studio is working on a new IP, maintaining Destiny 2, and expanding the Destiny franchise.

The Sony-Bungie deal is the latest in a series of high-profile consolidation deals in the gaming industry.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, in a $68.7 billion all-cash deal. The Windows maker said the acquisition would help it grow its gaming business across PC, mobile and console, as well as providing the building blocks for the metaverse.

An increasing number of tech firms are looking to gaming studios, which have vast experience in creating persistent online virtual worlds, to kickstart their own metaverse experiments.

Once the deal closes, Microsoft will become the third-largest gaming company in the world by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

Also last month, Take-Two Interactive - the publisher that owns Rockstar and 2K Games - announced an agreement to acquire social game developer Zynga, in a deal valued at $12.7 billion.

Sony acquired six gaming firms just last year, including The Playroom maker Firesprite Studios and God of War maker Valkyrie Entertainment.