PlayStation: Bungie deal is about multiplatform, live-service games

Sony Interactive Entertainment head Jim Ryan says we should expect more acquisitions.

[RaidenBlack]

Jim Ryan : Its a buffet out there ...

[Eonjay]

I like the fact that he was so upfront and was like, yes they will be multiplatform. No caginess or PR speak to decipher.

[Lightning77]

Wait, so future games from Bungie are gonna be multiplat then? So what's the point of buying them then? Just to get multiplatform money?

Good for Sony as a company sure but pointless for PS gamers.

Bad move on Jim Ryan, terrible move....

[gangsta_red]

@lightning

He said Destiny would remain multiplatform, not anything else from them.

He also said Bungie is still a self publisher so they could have the option with other future games, but I seriously doubt they would...at least to Xbox. I can see Bungie making future games for PS and PC only and keeping updates and content for Destiny on all platforms.

It's definitely just more slick PR talk

[MegaLogic]

Yes he's so direct, he believes in generations and doesn't think the PC market is for them, oh and that games shouldn't be online all the time lmao, you guys are hilarious!

[cloud 279]

I think this is why Bungie's next game is going to be multi platform. Bungie has been working on "Matter" silently for a while now, and they got a $ 100 million investment from NetEase in 2018.

https://www.bungie.net/en/N...

Matter trademark - https://www.gamesradar.com/...

[ReadyPlayer22]

Like that "generations" comment. Very upfront about it

[Silly gameAr]

@Mega Logic.

Man, that Generations comment really irked some people. I don't see where he lied, but maybe I interpreted what he said differently

The bigger joke is the other guy denouncing blocking games on other platforms, and then goes and buys the half the industry just to do that.

[arkard]

@lightning I imagine it's for the inevitable future where gaming is consolidated into 3 or 4 big publishers and only offer games through a service ala gamepass.

[Gazondaily]

Lol the dude lied to your face about generations and the response is "no caginess or PR speak" 🤣🤣🤣

Now lets talk about GaaS...

[Lightning77]

@Red I looked through the press release and Jim said.

"Everybody wants the extremely large Destiny 2 community, whatever platform they're on, to be able to continue to enjoy their Destiny 2 experiences. And that approach will apply to future Bungie releases. That is unequivocal."

Even future games will be multiplat. The move could be due to Sony losing 20 billion after MS bought Activision Blizzard. Want to make love service games to not only make the money plus more (obviously) I still think it's not a great move as a gamer anyway.

[Teflon02]

Was PR talk but did sound honest in what he said because they only specify Destiny. It'll be the same as MS in the end. Destiny won't change but future titles. I'm sure they want them to make a MP shooter for them or something

[neutralgamer1992]

Jim please buy square enix and Capcom along with namco all those companies fit Sony's portfolio very nicely with their games and the IP's that they own

Also you can believe whatever you want as a gamer Sony did not pay almost 4 billion dollars for Bungie to make multiplatform games that will come out on Xbox that is not happening now a PC release that totally makes sense. Bungie is said to be in development on a brand new AAA Blockbuster IP that you can bet your last penny will be exclusive to PlayStation

I could care less if Microsoft bought Activision electronic arts or Ubisoft but buying Bethesda was just wrong there's a publisher that was private and they did not need any money they just did that because they could and to keep games away from PlayStation so if that's how we want it done and I much rather have square enix Capcom and namco games exclusive to PlayStation. All those Xbox Fanboys who are celebrating those acquisitions I would love to see how they would react if Sony were to do that and keep those games exclusives

Also this kills another myth that's only has no money to spend Sony has more than 30 billion in cash as we speak so they can definitely acquire any of the publishers they feel like it. So much for that notion that PlayStation can't survive without Call of duty well they can have something bigger than Call of duty now and we can finally get the true Halo killer give Bungie killzone or resistance and let them make a true FPS that can compete with any other FPS in the market

[Sayai jin]

Here you go:
https://www.bungie.net/en/E...

Excerpt from their FAQ blog on the aqcuisition "Q. Bungie has future games in development, will they now become PlayStation exclusives? ​
No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. ​"

[darthv72]

Does this also kill another myth that Sony only buys studios with a history of working closely with them? Oni is the only PS specific title I can think of that Bungie worked on back before Halo.

[MrBeatdown]

@darth

Oh please.

What myth? It's a fact that the vast majority of studios Sony acquired to make PlayStation exclusives had long histories with PlayStation.

Bungie's different, but Sony isn't treating them like a standard acquisition either. They are owned by Sony, but they operate independently, and are free to put their games anywhere they want.

[ocelot07]

"Also you can believe whatever you want as a gamer Sony did not pay almost 4 billion dollars for Bungie to make multiplatform games that will come out on Xbox"

Oh my god I have had this discussion with people who said well Microsoft didn't buy Bethesda for $7billion to make multiplatform games that will come to playstation.

They did the exact same thing with Minecraft!!!!! One of the biggest IP's in gaming. Could of killed support for playstation but didn't you know why? They loose out on so much money.

Minecraft Story Mode 1 and 2 and Minecraft dungeon and VR all came to playstation years after the purchase.

Of course there going to keep releasing Desinty content on Xbox. Even if they go and make destiny 3 that will also come to Xbox. The amount of money Sony is going to make from Destiny alone is going to be insane.

[Teflon02]

Darth, Bungie and Sony have had multiple deals and such since Destiny was in development. Still unexpected, but they have been pretty good to eachother since they left halo

[neutralgamer1992]

Sayai jin

You do know releasing the game on PlayStation and PC is considered multiplatform right. The same applies to Xbox and PC. The next big Blockbuster that comes from Bungie will be console exclusive on PlayStation and will launch on PC so it will be multiplatform

Darth

When your competition spends 80 billion on two acquisitions all bets are off

[Tech5]

Bungie sold Myth and Oni IPs to take two interactive decades ago.

[Sayai jin]

@neutralgamer1992, you do realize that I directly quoted Bungie and Sony, right? You do realize that I didn't mention any other platform nor Xbox, right? Why did you bring up Xbox?

What we know:
Excerpt from their FAQ blog on the acquisition "Q. Bungie has future games in development, will they now become PlayStation exclusives? ​
No."

[neutralgamer1992]

ocelot07

The creator of Minecraft demanded that the game would be available on all platforms for him to sell maybe look it up

Also Microsoft have gone again and again with saying we will honor all the contracts with other platforms but they're not talking about other games like fallout like starfield like elder scrolls you can bet those games are not coming to Playstation and that's understandable since Microsoft owns Bethesda

Sayai jin

Only time will tell my friend a company does not spend that kind of money and not have control. I think Sony's approach is very similar to Microsoft and that is to release their games on PlayStation and PC that will be considered multiplatform. They acquired few medium size studios whose expertise are porting games to PC

darthv72

I think in the past that has been true but when your competition is spending almost 80 billion dollars on two acquisitions then you have to step your game up simple as that that's why Jim said expect more acquisitions he understands that if Sony doesn't buy it it's Microsoft will

[Orbilator]

As a gamer for 40 years I really couldn't care less about PC gaming, yes I dabled with it but ultimately all I wanna do I plug in my TV and console and go. Jim Ryan is right to separate PC gamers for console gamers as they are two different people. But people shouldnt sit on there PC moaning about Sonys lack of support, it's embarrassing that a 369 pounds box is performing so well. And anyone that brags on how games look on there awesome pc can tell me how much there GPU cost to get there. Used to be people would say AHH well with a pc you only need to update the gfx card or ram etc, well with today's prices for top cards being excess of 800 pounds that argument doesn't hold water. PC has went elitist and can stay there for all I care.

[Sayai jin]

@Orbilator, I have been gaming since 1981.

"Jim Ryan is right to separate PC gamers for console gamers as they are two different people."

No, they can be one and the same. I have been playing on consoles, PCs, and handhelds.

[-Foxtrot]

Urgh....live service

I just want to see a Bungie game that's not focused on being live service

I want a Halo like single player campaign with drop in drop out co-op.

[Inverno]

Live service has turned me off to gaming these past few years. I don't pay attention to it, but it's hard not to dislike it when it starts to creep it's way to games where it shouldn't belong. I'm all for options but it's really inconsistent and overall poorly done.
Funny how now most ask for stuff that used to be standard

[FPS_D3TH]

Hear hear. I honestly wouldn’t mind their live service model so much if it wasn’t entirely built around FOMO however. That shit is trash. I shouldn’t have to log in every single day so not to miss something entirely. On top of the constant light level refresh every 3 months or so, I just can’t be bothered

[iplay1up2]

The answer would be buy Infinite. Drop in out co-op is coming. I think this is going to be good for Sony.

[Atticus_finch]

I think with the Sony acquisition we can expect to that Bungie will have more freedom to expand and work on better games.

[gamer7804]

Bungie is only interested in live service games since their departure from halo so this isn’t shocking.

[Zeref]

Or you can just... Play Halo?

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

As soon as I read "live service", what little excitement I have has died off, I wanted another sci-fi FPS shooting game or something.

[Blaze929]

You're not going to get anything Halo like at Bungie in the future. I doubt it. Most of those who made Halo Halo either retired or are at 343

[ocelot07]

They have 600 employees and are now hiring more. I'm sure with Sony owning them now and their history of single player story driven games. I'm sure they can get a small team at Bungie to start work on a Halo - Destiny type single player game with a MP mode to keep people interested.

[Deathdeliverer]

This isn’t an acquisition. This is a insomniac in the beginning kind of deal. We treat you so well that you CAN develop for anyone you want. You still have creative freedom and are independent. It’s just we will support everything you do and if there’s something nice in the pipeline hopefully your will give us a special nod.

[Shane Kim]

I mean they bought it. It's then up to Sony if they want Bungie to develop on on other platforms.

[Sayai jin]

Shame Kim,

Wrong. Bungie will remain independent, with their own Board of Directors. It has already been confirmed by Sony and Bungie that even their future games will not be PlayStation exclusive. Read here:

https://www.bungie.net/en/E...

"Q. Bungie has future games in development, will they now become PlayStation exclusives? ​
No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. ​"

[frostypants]

@Sayal jin that doesn't mean that Sony hasn't acquired them. They are owned by Sony after this. The operating structure is irrelevent to that, and nothing can be set in stone forever. It is an acquisition by legal definition and Sony will have ultimate say regardless of any temporary niceties. They'd be foolish not to stay multiplatform though.

[Sayai jin]

@frostypants, where did I say that Sony didn't aqcuire them. I just directly quoted them. Sony aqcuired Bungie, Bungie will remain independent with their own board of directors, which are current Bungie management. You not I have rarad their agreement, but they habe already stated that they will remain multiplatform in the future as well. This is not a normal aqcuisition.

[Nitrowolf2]

that's nothing like Insomniac. they were always independent, even when they made exclusives. It wasn't up until Spider-man that they got bought out, and there games are always going to be exclusive to playstation

[Deathdeliverer]

Well I guess them saying they are 100% independent and will still be making multi platform games is what’s throwing me off. Is Sony buying them but still putting games on all systems anyway? Is Sony sharing while Microsoft is taking away? What kind of bizarro world is this?

[badz149]

@Deathdeliverer

maybe they bought them just so MS couldn't. the statement right now is they will operate independently and keep making multiplat but multiplat in this case might be PS and PC only, who knows. they didn't specify any platform.

[Lightning77]

If this was like Insomniac, then Spider-Man 3 and Wolverine would be on Xbox. Jim clearly stated in the press release that Destiny 2 and future Bungie games will remain multiplat.

[Deathdeliverer]

@ lightning that’s why I said insomniac in the beginning. How did you think sunset overdrive came on Xbox? Sony didn’t own them they were just super close partners. This is weird cause it sounds like Sony DOES own bungie but they are making games for everything.

[frostypants]

No. It's literally a total acquisition. They're just giving Bungie room to breathe as an entity. But Sony will own them entirely.

I hate the direction the industry is going here. I blame Microsoft for pushing this snowball down the mountain in the first place.

[GaboonViper]

SOCOM reboot right now Jim.

[Orchard]

I would +1, but that's not enough, [phone].

Also remake SOCOM 1 and 2, and also the original Syphon Filter games.

[CR7JUVE1897]

MAG. Bring back MAG.

[Eonjay]

Loved Syphon FIlter

[GaboonViper]

Oh God yes Syphon Filter.

[NickN]

MAG too

[darthv72]

i could see that. Seeing as zipper is no more and the studios that created others like killzone and resistance are still part of Sony. so at any time those games could get a new iteration but socom... can't.

[Kaii]

The following made me chuckle:
Bungie: we are leaving Microsoft to be our own independent studio

Also Bungie: we are teaming up with Activision for financial support

Also also Bungie: we are leaving Activision to be our own independent studio

Also also also Bungie: we are letting Sony buy us for some structure and financial support

[Software_Lover]

They have become the Urban Meyer of Developers.

[Parasyte]

Bungie has far more integrity than Urban Meyer ever thought of having.

[Jericho1337]

Hmmm can’t think this excites many PS players. They’re all about narrative-driven exclusives.

[execution17]

I mean they finally have their own established FPS developer. 🤔 I'm just wondering that that new ip is going to be

[Shane Kim]

Something they can milk for years. Ala Destiny.

[ABizzel1]

COD is consistently the best selling franchise of the year on PS, and Destiny was often up there too, and has had a long and consistent player base.

They do both.

[King_Noctis]

IMO Bungie is more of MS’s thing. Sony should have instead acquired devs like IO Interactive or Platinum who could make great single player game. But they say they aren’t done yet so we’ll see.

[Zhipp]

Sony should buy studios that can add something new to their portfolio. They already have like a dozen studios that excel at single player experiences. Do they really need to buy another one?

[King_Noctis]

@Zhipp

Thing is, they had already announced that any Bungie games going forward will be multiplatform. So I don’t think this will add anything more to their portfolio that they haven’t had before.

[BLow]

Well, you don't speak for all players. The 1st sold almost 6 million copies on PS alone and 2 did just over 4 million. So some do care. And let's not sit here a pretend PS players play nothing but 1st party narrative-driven games. COD was the highest selling game last year. Do you know what was number 3? The COD that came out in 2020. PlayStation gamers like all games and this narrative needs to stop. But I get that's the popular thing to say here on this site.

[King_Noctis]

You do realize alot of people on this site use to say they prefer SP game over MP right? If not, try looking at older articles. They all are there.

[Chevalier]

"You do realize alot of people on this site use to say they prefer SP game over MP right? If not, try looking at older articles. They all are there."

You do realize it's about diversifying their offerings right?! Playstation already has plenty of arguably the best single player experiences hands down. This is about broader reach and expanding their portfolio to fill out other needs. For example I could care less about sport games, but, when you see MLB breaking records, NBA 2K, Fifa, Madden smashing sales yearly then its easy to see just how much that enjoyment reaches.

[King_Noctis]

“ You do realize it's about diversifying their offerings right?! Playstation already has plenty of arguably the best single player experiences hands down. This is about broader reach and expanding their portfolio to fill out other needs. ”

I understand that Playstation want to expand their portfolio, and that is great. But Me and BLow were talking about some gamers here, not Playstation.

[Chevalier]

"I understand that Playstation want to expand their portfolio, and that is great. But Me and BLow were talking about some gamers here, not Playstation."

Then maybe look outside the fishbowl? The fans on any game website are not the most perfect representation the general fanbase.

Fact is single play games sell extremely well on Playstation and multi-player games do as well. Pretty sure the biggest group of COD, Fortnite, Destiny players are all on Playstation. Single player games like FF VII, Ghost of Tsushima, Spiderman, God of War, Ratchet and Clank all do very well too.

[CrimsonWing69]

I'm confused, so you purchase a developer studio for 3.6 billion, but it's not to make things exclusive for your platform?

I mean, with all that Microsoft has purchased that will be exclusive for the platform it just doesn't feel like that incentivizes consumers to choose your platform over the competitor.

[Gamer75]

Guess Sony have seen that some of the games from studios that MS brought are still multiplat and perhaps Sony realized that it's not a bad idea to do the same

[mkis007]

Taking away a successful business makes no sense.

[Obscure_Observer]

Welcome to modern days.

Sony has learned a lot from Phil Spencer.

Exclusive Playstation games on PC? Yes.

Gamepass like service on Playstation? Yes. Spartacus is coming.

Sony as a "Third party developer" as some people used to call Xbox? Yes, baby. Destiny will remain multiplatform and MBL22 will be Day One on Gamepass.

I´ve been saying for a long time since Yoshida took over as CEO that Sony from that point would focus on MONEY.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we´ll have to deal with the future reality of Xbox and Playstation games been on each others platform. Facts.

[alb1899]

Difficult to swallow for some but you are right Sir.

[RedDevils]

A business entity is to make money, thank captain obvious.

[Perjoss]

Exactly, don't forget the Trophy system was also probably inspired by the Xbox achievements. Not that there's anything wrong with copying an idea that just works, Microsoft are also very much into copying ideas.

[ABizzel1]

It's about expanding income. It doesn't make sense in for a lot fo companies to buy someone and then take their product that has been everywhere, and make it exclusive thus drastically decreasing your profits in the process.

This doesn't mean that there won't be exclusive that comes out of this, but big selling games like Destiny and even COD are likely to stay multiplatform, as Minecraft has just because of the user base available. It doesn't make sense to throw away millions.

But now Sony has Bungie in their corner, so they can learn what makes a great and lasting FPS, and can create more FPS franchises from their other games. Sony said flat out, they want their own Fortnite, and they have a developer who can do it.

[MrBeatdown]

It's almost like Sony's not worried about all these exclusive games the internet thinks Xbox is getting.

[BLow]

You have no idea that all the games that MS purchased will be exclusive do you? Do you know something we don't? When some of these games remain multiplat, then what would you say? Is Minecraft exclusive? MS pay over 2 billion for them? Short memory???

[Perjoss]

This is not about Sony vs Microsoft anymore. Its about Sony+Microsoft vs Google, Amazon etc. It would not surprise me at all if Sony and MS were working together to try and stop companies like Google and Amazon (and Tencent?) from gobbling up a ton of good studios. It really doesn't matter if you're a Sony or Microsoft fan at this point, if either of those 2 buys something its way, way better than Google or Amazon picking them up. Sony and the MS gaming division are primarily core games companies, they have been for so many years, those other fools just want to take great studios and put them on VR (metaverse) duty and some other NFT bullshit money making schemes.

[BlackTar187]

Lol imagine if it was the opposite the amount of MS paid for PR articles calling Sony a bad guy while MS is the nice company would be overwhelming.

[DOMination-]

That's odd because the day after the Acti announcement the top 3 articles on n4g were all about how and the deal was for gaming and the industry.

There's positive and negative news on both sides. This very article is itself overwhelmingly positive. Did Sony pay gamerant? Not everything is a conspiracy

[ziggurcat]

Ehhh... I would be skeptical of the multiplatform thing. I'm sure it'll be true of expansions for existing titles already released, but new, unannounced IPs/sequels will likely go exclusive.

[Orchard]

I dunno, they have put out a pretty clear message about exclusivity going forward (unlike Microsoft when they acquire things...)

https://www.bungie.net/en/E...

"Q. Bungie has future games in development, will they now become PlayStation exclusives? ​
No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. ​"

Of course, that could just be to keep the government happy, but I'd expect such 'keep the govt happy' statements from Sony more than Bungie as the one making the purchase.

I think what we're seeing though is a wider shift across the industry away from exclusivity and more about making money from all possible platforms. This may also give more weight to the rumors of PS GamePass - Destiny would be a nice get for it.

[ziggurcat]

I will always remain skeptical of any of these claims until they've actually shown that to be the case.

We all saw Bethesda claim they were going to remain independent/multi-platform and self-publish after the deal was announced, then turn around with a "JK we said we were, but we're not. Sorry."

[Orchard]

@ziggur I agree, until I actually see the behavior/actions play out, I will remain skeptical. It was just that their statements seemed less wishy-washy than Microsoft’s about “existing games” etc.

[ziggurcat]

@Orchard

"I agree, until I actually see the behavior/actions play out, I will remain skeptical. It was just that their statements seemed less wishy-washy than Microsoft’s about “existing games” etc."

Yup! There's that, I guess. I won't hold my breath, though!

[Lightning77]

"This may also give more weight to the rumors of PS GamePass - "

There's a rumor? If that were true then what would be the point of having an Xbox and if PS can play all of Xbox's exclusives.

What is going on in this industry lmaaaooo.

[Orchard]

@Lightning77 Apologies, I wasn't clear - I meant the rumors around Spartacus - Sony having their own GamePass equivalent, not Xbox GamePass on PS consoles.

@ziggur Agreed!

[OB1Biker]

I agree there’s room.’ Bungie has future games in development, ‘ the games in development.
From now on Bungie is set to work with Sony 1P on many projects and a few will be exclusive.
People need to stop seeing a studio as an entity on its own but see the way they fit in Sony studios.

[ScootaKuH]

No. Stop now for the good of the industry.

[Bathyj]

Top late for that. MS should have stopped at Bethesda. They brought this on and it's not over.

[Welshy]

MS opened Pandora's box when they gobbled up an entire publisher in Bethesda and tied all their games to MS platforms.

With the Activision deal now too, it's too late no matter how you feel about it to go back, MS made clear what their strategy is and competitors will have make similar moves or take measures to mitigate losses.

If this spirals out of hand, just remember who it was that opened this can of worms.

[RauLeCreuset]

@Welshy

"If this spirals out of hand, just remember who it was that opened this can of worms."

The company whose presence in the console market people defended and insisted was necessary for competition?

[Welshy]

@RauLeCrueset

I don't understand what you're getting at, I didn't question their right to exist in the market, you can keep that strawman thanks.

I meant what I said in my comment, I didn't infer anything else.

[RauLeCreuset]

@Welshy

Maybe ask for clarification if you don't understand what I'm getting at before accusing me of using a strawman argument? Thanks.

I was piggybacking off of your observation (that MS opened this can of worms) to point out the irony of people defending MS in the past by insisting that their particular presence is required in the console market to promote competition.

[aconnellan]

Ah yes, the classic “it’s not okay when you do it but it is okay when I do it”, with a healthy dose of “I’m only doing this because you made me do it”

[My_Name_is_Earl]

Lol you comparing this to Bethesda and Activision?
Sony brought this on by money hatting timed exclusives and stipulating that games couldn't launch on Gamepass...like WTF???

So Microsoft decided to stop that from happening permanently.

[RauLeCreuset]

@Earl

I saw you spreading the same falsehood over in another article and was going to reply to you there, but the article was failed, so I'll reply here.

This is not about 3rd party deals (which MS gleefully pursued). This is about MS being MS.

There has been a lot of denialism over the years about Microsoft's intentions and what they would do to the console market. Defenders treated critics as wrong, fanboys, or toxic for rejecting a misguided notion of competition that lacked the nuance to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy competition and assumed MS was entitled to be Sony's main competitor in the console market. Now that MS has proven themselves to be who they've historically shown themselves to be, defenders want to engage in revisionist history about 3rd party deals to continue the false narrative that, in the console market, this multinational, billion dollar megacorporation is some scrappy underdog acting in self-defense after being bullied by Sony — while you delight in the fact that MS has had a much bigger money hat that has enabled them to cut deals for publishers that dwarf Sony's Bungie acquisition.

[Perjoss]

"No. Stop now for the good of the industry."

and let companies like Google, Amazon and Tencent buy up all the best studios instead? no thank you. MS and Sony should continue as they are, let the actual gaming companies buy the studios before we get into a real mess.

[Duke19]

Ugh. "Live Service Games" just suck. So amazingly anti-consumer. I hope they get back to their roots and can actually deliver some solid single player/offline work too

[OG_TK_Cole]

Some of you still dont understand that Microsoft and SONY buying all these Publishers and Development studios is not about them competing with each other, Its about Amazon, Apple, Tencent ect. They are making sure there is no Content for Outsiders to purchase.

[jaymacx]

This comment should be a Sticky. We all need to take off the fanboy goggles for a minute and realize the Big 3 don't want anyone coming in taking their market share.

[Knightofelemia]

Capcom, SquareEnix, Sega, the gaming division of Konami would have been better choices. There are people who like Bungie I only know of one game they made that I like and that's Halo Reach. We can only wait and see how this pans out for Sony. If they make another move I hope it's a big one I can name a few studios I like that would be great too bring into the Playstation family.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Who says some of these companies haven't been bought already? More announcements seem like they're coming. Throughout the year were going to hear more of it.

I don't like it. But Microsoft opened up the can of worms. Just like paying for online, the raising in price of online, micro transactions, DLC that didn't fit on DVD now sold as a standard extra, porting to PC, push for digital over physical, etc.

We now have Microsoft to thank for the acquisition wars. Instead of all this money that could be used to build studios and great games.

[UncertainCategory]

"Push for digital over physical"

Looks at PSP Go, Discless PS5 and Steam as a platform... Mkay. sure bud. Microsoft is the sole reason for the push to digital. No one else is participating in that.

[Thegr81]

I’m gonna just throw it out there even tho it’s just a random guess but I say Sony buys Konami and Microsoft sega. Campcom and square Enix stay independent.

[ocelot07]

Sega a Japanese company as is Konami, capcom and square. So Microsoft buying them from what I understand is no a option. However, Sony bring a Japanese company could. I doubt it but I can't see them buying them all lol.

My guess would be. Sony buy Konami's IP's and not Konami it's self and buy Capcom or square.

[itsmebryan]

I read the article and Sony gets no exclusives from the deal. Bungie games stay multi platform. Couldn't they just hire them as consultants?

Ryan said "Philosophically, this isn't about pulling things into the PlayStation world. This is about building huge and wonderful new worlds together." When did this change of heart come about?

[gangsta_red]

"We are starting to go multiplatform, you've seen that. We have an aggressive road map with live services."

Very, very interesting quote from Jim Ryan and just another example of where gaming trends are heading. You're not going to see games just tied to one console anymore but also PC and streaming devices. I would not doubt the rumors of a revamped PSnow is coming and possibly even day and date for their own games.

Also, Agressive Live Services? We can see Sony wants games that can bring in money years down the line instead of the SP type games that may bring in sales, but taper off the second or third week.

I expect to see a lot more of these practices that were not popular at the time but now wildly accepted because MS and Sony know this is where the future of gaming is going.

[Shane Kim]

This is what I've been saying all along. Both MS and Sony are going the Netflix route.

[FPS_D3TH]

Wonder if they keep destiny in their back pocket as an exclusive should Microsoft decide something like call of duty won’t be on PlayStation

[SegaSaturn669]

So, as a PlayStation gamer, this just enables better (sooner) access to timed exclusives? I don't really see the point.

[brewin]

Well then. I guess we can stop hearing all the hatred toward Microsoft, Ubisoft and others about their "crappy live service games" all the time?!

[Chexs1990]

Jumped ship on the "live services" crap - That's a big red flag in the gaming industry

[Ryuk_2007]

Wasted 3.6 billion dollars if you ask me. And you're keeping them multiplatform? There's nothing "organic" about buying a team that's known for their games on Xbox. They literally bought them so M$ wouldn't lol

[Kakashi Hatake]

Well MS should've stopped at Bethesda. Sony would be dumb to just let MS own everything.

[My_Name_is_Earl]

This deal started 5 months ago. Before Activision deal began

[AmUnRa]

Do you realy think Bungie would go back to MS?? Do you know how ridicoulus that sounds after the shit what happend between Bungie ans MS?

[badz149]

apparently, MS was looking to buy them since 2020 but the asking price is too much so the deal never materialized.

[Terry_B]

Time to get popcorn, and read the comment sections.

[Elda]

Sony can definitely generate more money keeping Bungie games multiplat (XB,Stadia & PC). Though Sony can mean multiplat by keeping future titles on PS consoles only & PC. I think Sony made this deal also to have a developer to have knowledge in multiplayer & fps games for future development of games to come. I also think Sony grabbed Bungie in case MS decides in the future to keep fps COD,Doom & Wolfenstein off of PS consoles.

[isarai]

Well at least they gave a quick, direct clear as day answer unlike some others...

[Bladesfist]

I'm guessing that Bungie has negotiated this as part of the contract (Seeing as they announced they are retaining publishing independence on their own announcement) and it's regulator friendly so it can be announced without fear of having the deal struck down.

Activision Blizzard however probably did not negotiate publishing independence from Microsoft and Microsoft doesn't want to say anything that may cause any alarm to regulators so we wont know their real plans until the purchase is complete.

[Tedakin]

PS games are going to fully move to PC eventually. It makes too much financial sense.

[WGAF]

If Sony want to make a gamepass like service, they need live services types of games to keep the subs. Just like most of MS games are heavily focus on MP and live services so that they can keep gamers playing and pay their monthly. Even their SP games (Bathesda) take thousand of hrs of gameplay and people still playing it since 360/ps3 days. SP game that Sony have (though high in production value) can only last for a couple of days at most, once and done. They needed something like this; possibly also that they currently dont have a developer with a focus on FPS. Sony can not keep the subs with entirely SP catalog (Sony even said so), hence buying more SP publisher or developers not gonna help. Keeping it exclusive to just PS console only for live services is like shooting yourself in the foot. How can it expand to more gamers when it money making progress depend solely on number of persistent monthly subs? It has to be on as many devices as possible; as long as people stay within the ecosystem, it doesnt matter if one device isn't the main focus anymore. PS SP games can help increase subscribers, but staying subs need live service games. Plus live services is sustainable unlike what many may think in term of netflix like services. Game live service makes more money, not from the subs (which apparently can pays for it self), but mostly from DLC, MTX, NFT, etc...which Netflix doesnt have. Not to mention people who like to own games can also purchase them straight up from these services with discount. Straight comparison to netflix as a way to measure profit therefore make no sense (apple and oranges).

With that said, I think square enix would probably a better purchase, or at least in addition to Bungie (though they might not have to since SE pretty much in their pocket already) for the FFIV (one of the biggest MMO currently) and many other IPs that resonate well with PS. Only problem is that they have to lose out on those extra monthly sub if it is included in Spartacus service. Another purchase should be epic
to get that fortnight (top live services) and unreal engine (loyalty), but I dont think Sony can hang with Tencent on that front; Tencent already owns ~40% of Epic.

Gaming is much more recognizable now within the entertainment industry as a whole, therefore, more bigger player (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google) will flock to it eventually, if they haven't already. MS has to mitigate that issue through buying up large publishers to keep the game within few players as possible (MS, Sony, Nintendo,...) not to mention other less known player (Tencent, Embracer Group...) that are actually quite large globally.

Things always change, the gaming landscape has to change as well. Hanging on to the old days just gonna makes one frustrated for no

[Petebloodyonion]

Sony is basically confirming this deal as a deterrent agent.
Like I said in the past I fully expect that MS move of buying Activision was a way to prevent Sony from acquiring Japanese studios and making thing Playstation exclusives.
As you can read from Sony things will stay the same for Destiny... but you could hear in whispers: As long as Microsoft leaves games like Cod on our platform.

But exclusivities for PS Now well that you can be sure it will happen.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Good move by SONY buying BUNGIE . They need more FPS games . Hopefully BUNGIE can put more effort in the single player side of DESTINY and we need a bunch of new STRIKES for the co-op side of DESTINY. And it benefits both SONY and MICROSOFT to keep popular games like DESTINY, DOOM , COD on all plaforms because it keeps most gamers happy . No one wants to be the villian.

[hiawa23]

I guess this is a good move but what has Bungie released recently other than Destiny.

[John_McClane]

Bungie was already multiplatform.

[darksky]

Bungie is a an experienced FPS developer so I reckon this is a good move by Sony to fight back if CoD becomes an Xbox Exclusive in the future. I'm sure Bungie can easily make something to rival the Halo/CoD franchise. Sony hasn't released any AAA exclusive FPS since Killzone on PS4.

[Bobertt]

This was a bad buy at 3.6 billion according to some sources Bungie was valued at 2 billion. Bungie is a good developer but Destiny 2 has lost 60% of it's players due to the microtransactions and grind. They shouldn't buy them to have them keep putting out live service games. They should have them make a new exclusive AAA franchise for them like Horizon. Destiny has a lot of potential but Destiny 3 has a lot to fix to make back 3.6 billion and it doesn't sound like Sony wants them to change what they are doing.

[IMissJimRyan]

"And definitely one of the main ones is the ability for the wonderful games that we've been making over the past 25 years to be enjoyed in different places and played in different ways. We are starting to go multiplatform, you've seen that. We have an aggressive road map with live services."

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Sony is basically where Activision was with Bungie.

[Silly gameAr]

I think Bungie didn't want to be owned by Microsoft again.

[ChasterMies]

Do people really believe everything in a press release? There is no mystery here. Microsoft bought up almost all the shooters. Reasonably clear what Sony needed to do.

[moriarty1889]

Jolly old Jim is on a buying spree it seems.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Then what did they pay for?

[swifty1]

Bungies next IP will probably be Sony exclusive. Exactly like Microsoft WILL do with all NEW Bethesda and Activision/Blizzard games. Why else spend the billions??