In an interview, Sony explained why they decided to acquire the developer of Destiny 2, Bungie. The main reason is that they want to move more towards “live-service” games. Translated, this likely means: Sony plans to release more MMOs for the PlayStation 5. They talk about aggressive and wonderful plans.
This is the situation:
- We learned unexpectedly last night that Sony has bought Bungie for $3.6 billion. Both sides emphasize that Bungie should continue to work independently, with maximum freedom, and that they should continue to develop games for all platforms.
- The stock market reacted positively to the acquisition, with Sony’s stock rising approximately 4.7% yesterday. However, the stock had already risen before the purchase was announced. Gamers did not receive the acquisition as well as shareholders. Many gamers wondered what Sony was thinking. It can be read that Bungie is “too expensive”, they have nothing to offer but Destiny and that it is a “dying brand.”
- In an interview with Gamesindustry, the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, explains why they planned the deal.
It’s not about Destiny – it’s about new games
This is the main statement: The most important message in the interview is that they did not buy Bungie to simply grab Destiny 2 in response to the Activision Blizzard deal, but rather that they bought Bungie for their technical expertise and experience in developing a live-service game. Bungie is supposed to help develop and create new games:
Philosophically, it is not about pulling things into the PlayStation world. It’s about developing large and wonderful worlds together.
Jim Ryan
Ryan says he had many discussions with Pete Parsons, the head of Bungie, and noted that they share many views and that Sony and Bungie complement each other perfectly. Both companies fit together like puzzle pieces:
They make massive, immersive games that have no end. While the strengths of PlayStation, as you know, lie in single-player games with rich stories. Our studios make these games and they are some of the best games you can find.
Jim Ryan
Apparently, Sony wants to turn its biggest games into MMOs for PS5
Bungie is now supposed to help Sony step beyond the “motherland of consoles”.
Sony says:
We are starting to expand onto more platforms, as you can see. We have an aggressive roadmap with live-service games. And the opportunity to collaborate with the brilliant and talented people at Bungie and especially to learn from them… this will significantly accelerate our journey.
Jim Ryan
What exactly does Sony plan? They don’t reveal that. But it all sounds like Sony plans to turn existing game franchises into “multiplayer live-service” games. This is what Destiny itself is and what can be considered a kind of modern form of MMO.
It seems to be the plan to take Destiny as a model for new PS5 games based on the big Sony titles of the last 25 years.
The way people play has changed significantly over the last few years. We have built wonderful things over the last 25 years with characters that people love and that are well received worldwide. Giving people the opportunity to experience these experiences now in entirely new ways is really exciting for us. I can’t go into details right now, but we have a really great roadmap ahead of us for how we want to do that.
Jim Ryan
Ryan also makes it clear that the deal is not a reaction to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The deal is what feels “right for PlayStation”:
This had nothing to do with industry consolidation. It’s all about a common vision and how we can do things better together.
Jim Ryan
People can expect more deals in the future. They are by no means done but have a long way ahead.
Just a few weeks ago, there was the last major deal in gaming:
Microsoft announces: They want to acquire Activision Blizzard
