Sony acquiring 'Halo'/'Destiny' developer Bungie in $3.6 billion deal (updated)
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Sony (SONY
+4.5%) has definitive deals amounting to $3.6 billion to acquire indie game maker Bungie, a longtime partner that developed iconic hits including Halo and Destiny.
Bungie will continue to operate independently. So the deal gets Sony access to Bungie's tech expertise and particularly its approach to live game services.
Bungie's currently focused on the long-term development of Destiny 2 and expanding the Destiny universe, it says.
âBungie has created and continues to evolve some of the worldâs most beloved videogame franchises and, by aligning its values with peopleâs desire to share gameplay experiences, they bring together millions of people around the world,â says Sony Chairman/CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.
The Halo franchise is near-synonymous with the Xbox made by Sony rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). It was considered the "killer app" for the first Xbox, and the franchise overall has sold more than 65 million games (with the games along grossing some $3.4 billion).
The most recent entry in the Halo franchise came just two months ago with Halo Infinite, the sixth installment.
Bungie split from Microsoft to establish itself as an independent developer in 2007. (Microsoft retained rights to Halo and established a studio to oversee that franchise.)
On the Destiny series, Bungie brought an eight-year partnership with Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) to an end in 2019, planning to acquire publishing rights and to put the series out on its own.
Updated 1:16 p.m.: Checking in on videogame tickers after the latest major deal - (OTCPK:NTDOY
+0.1%), (SONY
+4.6%), (MSFT
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+1.6%), (CRSR
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+4.4%), (OTCPK:NCBDY
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+10.2%), (SE
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Updated 1:24 p.m.: After a halt, Sony stock (NYSE:SONY) has resumed trading - paring some earlier gains and now up 4.5% on the day.