Sony recently announced that it's buying Bungie, the studio behind iconic games such as Halo and Destiny, for $3.6 billion.Bungie was originally owned by Microsoft Game Studios, until it split in 2007, with Bungie becoming an independent, private company. Its first new release since branching out was Destiny, a game that was a massive commercial success, spawning a sequel in 2017.Bungie will operate under Sony's PlayStation Studios division, alongside other big names such as Guerrilla Games, Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Santa Monica Studio, and Sucker Punch Productions.

Sony and Bungie Already Share a Friendly Relationship

Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced the acquisition in a PlayStation.com blog post. He also highlighted the fact that since the release of Destiny 2, PlayStation players have enjoyed access to exclusive content for several years.

Exclusive weapons, missions, and cosmetic items are often available first on PlayStation before making their way to other platforms after several months. The two companies have shared a friendly relationship, and this will simply take that one step further.

Pete Parsons, the CEO of Bungie, stated this acquisition will allow Bungie to become a global multimedia entertainment company, with Sony's access to global talent and endless resources.

Bungie Will Remain Independent

Both Pete Parsons and Jim Ryan were quick to reiterate that Bungie will remain an independent publisher, and the developer will continue to release games on multiple platforms. Jim Ryan also reassured gamers that Sony will simply offer its support and enable Bungie to continue work on its games, instead of taking charge of game releases.

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What Does This Acquisition Mean for Gamers?

The timing of Sony's acquisition definitely raises some questions. Just a few days ago, Microsoft announced it was buying Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest publishers in the industry.

This announcement simply shows that Sony is actively looking to expand PlayStation's reach to a wider audience, and that it's also actively looking for big-name acquisitions. For gamers, though, this announcement is unlikely to change much.

Both studios have confirmed that all DLCs and future releases will be multi-platform. More importantly, cross-platform features like cross-play or cross-save are also going to be unaffected.

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Since Bungie will still remain an independent publisher, it will still have the rights to publish its games on any platform it so chooses.

Bungie will gain access to Sony's wide range of development tools and its talent pool, allowing the company to not only maintain a steady flow of content for Destiny 2, but also to improve its quality. We'll also likely see some excellent titles from the fruits of this partnership.

How This Deal Benefits Gamers

Sony has largely struggled with multi-platform live-service games, and that's something that'll probably change with this acquisition.

Bungie is arguably one of the best developers at releasing and managing multi-platform live-service games. Sony will probably look to leverage Bungie's tools and experience to release live-service games on other platforms.

Sony has already begun releasing its exclusives on PC, which indicates the company's desire to branch out from under the PlayStation umbrella.

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The company has built a reputation for releasing single-player masterpieces. While they are a joy to play, and leave gamers with endless memories, such games simply can't make as much money as their live-service counterparts.

Destiny 2 is one of the most profitable live-service games ever made, generating hundreds of millions in revenue for Bungie each year.

With this acquisition, gamers can expect Sony to shift some focus towards live-service games, and with Bungie's veteran developers to offer assistance, the company's stating its intent to prevent any launch-day disasters in uncharted territory.

A Game Pass Competitor Might Be on the Way Too

The PlayStation 5 continues to sell out, with supply shortages prevalent all over the globe. While it's been a big hit, the company is still lagging in terms of a service like Xbox Game Pass.

Many consider it to be the best gaming subscriptions out there, and there's no way Sony hasn't taken note. With such a big acquisition, the company is no doubt looking at different ways to monetize Bungie's assets.

A Game Pass alternative definitely makes sense, especially considering that PlayStation Now still requires you to play most games from the cloud.