It’s a done deal — Sony has closed its agreement to acquire Bungie and make the Destiny studio an official part of the PlayStation team. After announcing the acquisition in January, Sony finalized the addition with a $3.7 billion price tag.
Both Sony and Bungie made their respective announcements through the usual social channels, confirming the completed sale. If the numbers seem a little off from what you initially heard, that’s because the price did indeed see a bump from what we first reported. IGN’s report on the deal noted the official SEC filing valued Bungie at approximately $3.7 billion — not $3.6 billion. A cool $100 million difference, perhaps pennies compared to some, but a sizeable chunk.
The agreement to acquire Bungie has closed. So now we can officially say… welcome to the PlayStation family, @Bungie! pic.twitter.com/x5jVmelaxl
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 15, 2022
Even after May reports that the agreement may have drawn the attention of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the deal went through. The SEC filing may not point to any specific reason, but it does mention Sony’s Bungie acquisition was “completed earlier than the assumed timing.” Of course, it’s all speculation, but that inquiry could have tacked on costs associated with the deal. Regardless, Sony should share more on how the agreement impacts its finances before that original October – December expected time frame.
While the Sony-Bungie social media courting is all amicable, the platform holder hasn’t been the most gracious new host. Bungie maintained in its blog that Destiny 2 would continue multi-platform support; plus made a commitment to cross-platform support for future titles. However, despite the good news there, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan pissed off not only his current employees, but also prospective ones, with his miserable internal email over abortion. TLDR; Ryan would like for you to agree to disagree over reproductive justice. Also, here’s a cat in a party hat to lighten the mood, I guess.
Bungie didn’t mince words when it came to a response. The Destiny developer issued its own statement supporting reproductive rights. The studio’s community manager also prioritized standing for social issues, tweeting, “There will never be a ‘muzzle’ big enough to stop us from standing up for what is right.” The big boss, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, backed Gafner up with a “yes” in response.
Now the sale is over, and the industry is a little more consolidated. It’s a troubling trend, one that’s notably picked up these last couple of years. Before Bungie, Microsoft announced its deal for Bethesda and later Activision-Blizzard. Take-Two also picked up Zynga, and now it looks like EA may be seeking acquisition. It’s an ugly hellscape watching a handful of players own all of our entertainment and media. But, here’s to hoping the folks at Bungie don’t experience any hurt in the transition.
