Poll: What Are Your Thoughts on Sony's Buyout of Bungie?

Terrible little bit of business. Sure it fits their company's future prospects, but I think every gamer would rather have seen them buy Bethesda for just a bit more.

I don't think anything of it. This acquisition was more of a business move rather than a move for "the players". From the gamer perspective, it changes nothing.

Regardless of what you think about Bungie and/or Sony's decision to allow them to be 'somewhat' independent and able too self publish on any platform, it adds to Sony's skill set within their development studio's.

As we know, IP association is important too - not 'just' exclusives. I bet the association with 'CoD' has been successful in selling more 'Playstation' consoles because Sony had the Marketing.

At the end of the day, Bungie make Sony 'better' as they bring skills and expertise that were not that 'strong' within their own studio's.

I'm not sure what to think of it. I haven't played a Bungie game since they've last developed Halo. Never touched Destiny. However, I understand the multiplayer aspect of it. That price tag for this one developer though. It's a hefty one. Especially seeing as the games will continue to be multiplat.

I think it's a pivotal step in a direction I've never wanted PlayStation to go in: live services.

I understand the move. If COD goes exclusive, Sony will make a FPS exclusive from Bungie...that's the move.

The rest, 3.6 billion for virtually 1 IP and some talent (og Bungie devs aren't even there anymore) is a bit worrying

@Shepherd_Tallon FIFA would not allow their license to be limited to a single platform. Much like how Sony now has to develop MLB The Show games for Xbox and Switch. I'm sure the same would be true of the NFL and NHL.

The buyout of Bungie, especially with Bungie remaining multi-platform and fully independent, is a curious one for PlayStation. It's definitely a smart move in the long run as a revenue driver, but it seems like this was more about talent and technology than IP (which seems obvious considering the lack of IP Bungie owns, but often folks only think of IPs). The logical comparison is Bungie costing about half of what all of Bethesda did. Bethesda has a ton of popular IPs, but most people don't realize just how much money Destiny makes by itself.

Regarding revenue growth, Sony spent $3.6B to potentially make an extra $500M or so a year through Bungie and then some. These buyouts are the easiest way to grow revenue. For example, Activision-Blizzard makes about $8B a year. By buying them for $69B, Microsoft has effectively jumped their annual gaming revenue up by $8B just like that. That's the kind of growth that previously took Xbox many years and the addition of PC as a main platform. It's all investment.

I love classic Bungie. I was a big fan of Marathon and Halo. Especially Halo.

I love Destiny’s gunplay (basically Halo), but I never could keep up with the game as I moved between places that lacked decent enough internet throughout the PS4 era.

Overall, considering Sony’s long term objectives, it was a good purchase. Just Bungie’s proprietary shooter engine is a good buy; it’ll help other Sony studios get shooters up and running pretty quick.

Zero benefits for us, but for Sony, it's just a new revenue stream. Nothing to see here, move on lol!
There are so many studios out there that are WAY BETTER than Bungie, yet Sony decided to snatch them.
Guurl...

@Cherip-the-Ripper For a little bit more? The Zenimax deal was more than 'double' the price - $3.6bn for Bungie vs $7.5bn for Zenimax. That '$3.9bn' difference that you say is a little bit more that would be required on top is 'more' than Sony paid for Bungie and Insomniac combined! $3.6bn + $0.229bn (or 229m which Sony paid for Insomniac) = $3.829bn for both studio's.

Im a fan in that the original halo trilogy is one of the best trilogies ever, but not a fan of live service games that they have been for a decade

Good business move, nothing for us. The Bungie Halos are legendary games, Destiny is great at its core, but I personally don't like how "perfected" they have gotten the hamster wheel to keep try to keep you engaged 24/7, 365 and I am very concerned BIg Jim Ryan & Hermen Hulst have their eyes wide open for that stuff.
I know they have a reported 10 live service games in dev, just hoping this isn't a push away from the big single player exclusive bangers, they should ask the Xbox One how going all in on service games works out.

I haven’t played a lot of Destiny but I did like what I did play and I definitely could see myself giving their next game a go too.

@Divergent95

Maybe Sony will get them, too. They may have countered Bethesda's acquisition with their 2021 acquisitions and Bungie in a way that makes sense for their strategy, but they have a ton more work to do to counter the Activision-Blizzard acquisition, for better or worse.

I think this move makes a lot of sense for Sony. They associate their name with a popular and enormously successful I.P. and gain loads of network expertise and support. What’s odd to me is, what’s in it for Bungie? They worked hard to ween themselves off of gaming’s biggest cash cows to gain independence. It’s gotta be about more than just money. A partnership with Sony makes sense if they are looking to grow their properties beyond gaming, into television and film most likely.

It almost feels like they did it to beat MS to the punch. Otherwise no short-term benefits.

I am kind of surprised that there is so much focus on IPs. I would rather like to see new ideas.

@TheCollector316 Who knows, maybe they will. I'm just disappointed that they aquired Bungie out of all the studios out there.
Besides Halo, what have they done since? Destiny is a niche game that has it's loyal community but besides that...

@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah, but FIFA aren't part of this industry. Even if someone bought EA, I guarantee they wouldn't try to make the sports games single platform as they'd risk their licenses, and without them their sports games would be nothing.

As much as I'm over acquisitions of independent developers at this point, considering it already happened I just hope Destiny goes back to being a really fun experience. Something about Destiny 2 left me with so little hope for the franchise.

Remaining multi-plat makes micro$oft aka microshaft looking reallyyyyyyyy bad by keeping the devs they’ve acquired Xbox exclusives like star field.

Honestly, Bungie are an absolute scumbag company. If their future Sony projects are as anti consumer as Destiny then it's a bleak future.

I played a tiny bit of Destiny but wouldn't be enough to actually say that I'd got into the game.

I personally don't like the idea of live service games but I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there that do, and possibly for Sony this was a good move if they want to get more into that arena.

As long as they don't abandon their traditional stable of great single player games then that's ok.

As long as gaas offerings are in adjunct to the style of single player games sony make and don't replace/diminish these, go for it.

The Bungie buyout doesn't mean anything to me. Had my fill of Destiny and their games will stay on all platforms anyway.

Sony letting go of Japan Studios, Zipper, Evolution and Studio Liverpool, did mean something to me however, since I was a fan of many of their games. The thought that they could have kept those studios going for a fraction of this buyout price is just more proof that my gaming tastes do not align with the plans of the current Sony leadership.

Honestly if it wasn't for the promise of PSVR2, I would have no interest in PS5 at all.

I think it'll ultimately be an exciting move for Bungie and Sony. For Bungie, it provides the necessary resources to keep hiring and have stable ground while they continue to work on D2 and their next IP. For Sony, it's very obvious in looking at their financial reports that live service games like Fortnite account for massive portions of revenue made through the PS Store. But they don't really have any of their own. Bungie makes sense for them, then, because it's much easier to just buy a studio that has been around and knows what they're doing, than to try and make/hire for a whole new studio from scratch to make these things.
And for those worried that live service will replace the SP experiences we all care so deeply about, I don't think those are going away. As many have speculated already, these titles will be additive, made to help fund those big bread and butter Uncharted's and Horizon's. I think it's very exciting, but I think it won't publicly bare fruit in a notable way for a few more years.

@Divergent95

I'm with you there. I have read that Destiny 2 is the most popular MMORPG in existence right now, second only to World of Warcraft's peak (that it is nowhere near now). If this is true, Destiny is a lot more popular than people think.

I think this acquisition was a bit more mutual than a lot of people think. Bungie wants to branch out into other media. Sony, a massive media company, wants FPS, live service, and online gaming know-how. It seems to be a great fit when one stops to think about Bungie and Sony's various goals.

It's a purchase that will start showing results down the road. But I'm just kind of "eh" with it. I don't play Destiny.

@meistergeister “ Remaining multi-plat makes micro$oft aka microshaft looking reallyyyyyyyy bad”

My guess is this was a stipulation that Bungie required. I’d be surprised if Sony bought Konami and left Metal Gear or Castlevania multi-plat. If they did leave it multiplat, I bet MS would be willing to talk about deals to put each other’s games on both consoles.

What do I think…

firstly I think it’s made for some hilarious readings from the reaction of it.

Secondly, I think it’s brought attention to just how many think Bungie own Halo. Which makes zero sense.

Thirdly, I think it’s a needed move by Sony if they want to get aggressive with service games. Bungie will be able to offer a lot in that.

Lastly, I think it’s potentially a little worrying the direction Sony is going in with the ps5…and if you’re a PlayStation purest you’re not going to have a good time. I think it’s clear the path Sony wants to take…and if you don’t like live services, or still holding hope that first party are going to take years to hit pc, you’re gonna be in for a rough ride. There’s a strong sense of PlayStation (who outsell Xbox) playing catch up.

@TheCollector316 I tried Destiny 2 and I was OVERWHELMED. No matter how much I tinkered with the menus and game modes, I found it confusing and unintuitive.
I despise when a game needs huge guide to get it "working".

Very curious to see what the first fruits of this partnership will be. I was a massive Halo/Halo 2 fan, but my interest in Destiny couldn’t be any less. Still, an intriguing development.

It’s obviously a good move from Sony point of view and to counter Ms bulldozer strategy.
I don’t care about the game personally and it’s a shame we got to this point in the gaming industry.

Im not a fan of Sony abandoning what made them successful in the first place, ie, diluting their library, supporting cross gen so long, now buying businesses with the intention of furthering multiplatforms while pushing GaaS.

I prefer traditional games with traditional content at a traditional price.

I realize the profits that are possible with the position they are taking.

I also realize that the kids that built their success in the 90s to early 2000s are not their focus anymore.

it’s lukewarm

When I saw the purchase I thought wow FPS exclusives coming to PS5 maybe a killzone or resistance fall of man.
Now after a lot more information a little less interesting unless of course that changes after time.
Even if Bungie are multi platform I can’t see Sony games like killzone or resistance being made for other consoles etc.
overall a bit of a boring purchase so far, nothing like the excitement of the Insomniac purchase.

You should add this option- I think is about Metaverse.

Sony wayyyyy over paid for them. Insomniac is way more talented studio and Sony paid a fraction of what they did for Bungie. Bungie is a one trick pony and it was a bad move by Sony.

@BAMozzy yeah that's what I'm saying. They should've paid a bit more.

It’s another move from Jim Ryan that showcases how little he’s committed to the PS community and how far his priorities have shifted away from encouraging us to feel valued as Sony’s premiere customers who have bought into the PS ecosystem. In the interview that accompanied the buyout, he blatantly states that this acquisition is not about pulling people into the PlayStation ecosystem (which is the exact opposite of what MS buying Bethesda and Activision was about), and he literally uses the words “we’re going multiplatform” to signify his commitment expanding the PS brand elsewhere and essentially making the people who haven’t bought Sony’s systems to feel just as valued as those of us who have.

In other words, Jim Ryan is all but telling us that there is ZERO value in being a PlayStation owner anymore. Or at least there won’t be soon enough, as he seemingly wants to give himself an avenue where putting former PlayStation exclusives on rival consoles feels just as comfortable to him as releasing them on PC.

I could never get into Halo. I just found it boring and repetitive. All gung ho actually, like most of Microsoft's 1st Party output 360 onwards

@Marquez @get2sammyb For what it's worth, I really enjoyed playing just about all of Destiny and a huge chunk of Destiny 2 — so we're not all like Sammy!

Totally get where Sammy's criticisms come from, but I still think Destiny's gunplay is the best in the biz. I just couldn't keep up with Destiny 2, and I fell so far behind that I basically gave up. Then it went free-to-play, I saw loads of players complaining...just too late for me at that point.

That said, a Destiny 3 — or a large overhaul of Destiny 2 — would definitely tempt me back.

Sony smartly burning cash.
Bungie is the king of FPS shooting mechanincs and the feel of shooting. I abandoned Destiny the first time they removed content I paid for and haven't gone back. No free offer got me either, I will never touch it. But! But, those several hundred hours in Destiny were pure joy to play, loved every second of it. So yeah, a lot of potential there and if Sony didn't step in someone else would, ergo a smart move.

I think is a bad moved on Sony and no i never played a bungie game. Halo and Destiny have never peaked my interest, those games always seem mediocre at best. Unbelievable that Sony spend billions on a studio that even Microsoft didn't wanted..

Xbox’ sloppy seconds🤣🤣🤣

I like destiny.i play the first one and the second one.i enjoy. Both so its a goid move for sony.a fps game is a welcome one.word up son

It doesn't really impact me tbh, not really a multiplayer guy and GaaS do nothing for me either. As long as the SP side of Sony's studios is left alone I'm happy.

I think all of these corporate buyouts have been steadily causing a decline in video games for many years now, and eventually it will be like turning on any news channel where it’s all the same thing just packaged differently to sell you the least offensive product for our personal taste. I think the golden age of gaming has long passed and we’re entering a sort of generic mish mash of paid propaganda. Just have to identify the shrinking list of devs with souls left and latch on to them while we still can.
In NPC terms though, i suppose Sony trying to compete with Microsoft etc is … something.

@AFCC "I understand the move. If COD goes exclusive, Sony will make a FPS exclusive from Bungie...that's the move."

That's absolutely not going to happen, it's not me saying it both Bungie and Sony were very clear that under no circumstance will Bungie make a exclusive game just for Sony. They left 0 room for wiggle room in their statements.

Honestly I don’t know enough about Bungie to make an educated opinion but I think it could help Sony increase there service revenue that ultimately will help keep first party games to continue being made.

The move does very little of assuring me more of my favorite games aren’t about to be stripped away and made Xbox/gamepass exclusive. It also seems like a massive overpay for a company that it sounds like they actually have very little control over. Personally I would of much rather seen them spend 3 billion dollars on multiple smaller studios like Supermassive, Remedy, Techland, Ember Labs, etc. If they were gonna spend that on a single studio I wish they went after Gearbox which was sold for far less not long ago, or gone all out for a Capcom, Square, or Sega.

As Bungie remains third party multiplat... Sony severely overpaid. In fact, this could easily go down as the dumbest "acquisition" in Playstation history as they've essentially acquired nothing.

@Shepherd_Tallon Exactly. A few years and they would have made these 3.6 billion back WITH JUST DESTINY.

Hard not to think they overpaid, but in the long-term this seems like a good move.

Personally, I don’t care for any of these large acquisitions. I think this Microsoft pushing it’s all digital agenda on a market with the use of big tech money.

I don’t feel Microsoft’s vision has changed since the announcement of the Xbox One. They realized their vision wasn’t popular and if people had choices that they would go else where. So, Microsoft establishes a digital service of perceived value to get gaming media and budget gamers to put pressure on their competitors to move the market the way they want, but realize that’s still not enough.
Microsoft than decides to invest big tech money from other sectors of the company into the market to secure established IP as exclusive content to lock behind their ecosystem, knowing the competitors will have no choice but to adapt and try to do the same with lesser liquid assets. Soon consoles will be gone, along with physical media and we’ll just have a PlayStation and Xbox app with Xbox, now having the biggest presence in the market. BAM! All digital, online market exactly the way they wanted it back when they released the Xbox One.

@Ilovecoffee lol bungie left microsoft not the other way around !

I enjoyed Destiny 2 but after not playing it for awhile I was lost trying to get back into it. I also don't have gamer friends so it wasn't really for me.

@Squanch spot on

I think it's an excellent move.

I've never had any interest in any game that Bungie has made. I don't play FPS, and I don't play online. So its completely irrevelant to me, except that it could be a waste of Sony's resources that they may have put into games that I do enjoy instead.

@gaston Microsoft need to focus on IP. Sony never had that problem. The thing is IP are tangible and they mean a lot to gamers, but I'm sick of all the sequels and licensed games. I'd much rather see more original ideas.

I am legitimately surprised at the low percentage that started with Bungie from Halo.

This is a great buy for Sony, especially if they can come up with new IP for PS5 exclusive. Bungie's gameplay for FPS games is the market leader.

@ShogunRok This makes for interesting reading:
https://www.psu.com/news/sony-is-prepared-to-dedicate-1-2-billion-from-the-bungie-deal-towards-incentives-for-bungie-devs-to-stick-around/

Methinks Sony have bought a company and suspect some of the key devs will bog off, a la Rare under Microsoft's ownership.

"and every game born of that deal won't be on PlayStation."

Not sure why this keeps getting repeated like it's gospel. Highly probable, sure, but we (the common folk) honestly don't know for sure. How hard would it be, in the interest of accuracy, to just throw a "probably" in there?

my issue with this deal is way to much assuming , and guessing. no one really knows how this deal will be and what will come out of it till it actually happens.

@Cherip-the-Ripper Absolutely not. Not only have I very little time for bethusda, but I ultimately think that buying IPS is doomed to failure.
EA did it for many years and have sunk every team they have ever bought into nothingness and I fully expect Xbox to do it too.
I saw it personally as I was in Bullfrog as EA bought us us and sucked all the life out of us just like they did to everyone else.

To see Sony buy the best expertise they need to further their studios aims, whilst keeping their IP multiplat is heartening.
Sony are investing in making their own world class IP's for the future and not simply buying IP's to 'keep it from the other guy'.

Time will tell of course, but this is the move of a company confident in its own ability to deliver world class compelling content, and buying the best in the business to help them realise that goal.

To the silly corp warriors who want to play IP top trumps, it might not make any sense, but who needs to stoop to their level? Sony knows exactly what it is doing and has made proper choices when investing in companies every time, and I see this being no exception.

@Titntin I just read your profile and whilst you have a very impressive resume and I would most definitely like to hear more stories from ya I'm sad to say I've never heard of Bullfrog 😅 (as someone who really just got into gaming)
I totally get what you're saying but when Sony also throws lots of dough to keep certain IPs 'from the other guy' it's a bit ironic don't ya think (I'm talking third party exclusives). Sure whilst the Bungie buyout might seem weird it fits their narrative in the live service department however disheartening it might be for someone who could care less about that. I would however like to add that if Sony does care about third party bethesda exclusives they could as well have just bought their whole company instead and keep it all multiplat right.

@Juanalf ahah you're a believer. In no way they locked the statements so it never ever happens. They can clearly create a new IP exclusive, if Sony is paying, it can happen. But like I said, only if COD goes exclusive too

@Cherip-the-Ripper
That's OK mate, we are at different ends of the games players age spectrum! Making Dungeon Keeper 2 and Theme Park world at Bullfrog was late 90's and doesn't seem that long ago to me now, but will be ancient history to you

I thought most games players hated paid exclusivity and keeping 3rd party titles exclusive on one platform? You are quite right that Sony has engaged in this practice before, and I've not liked it any more than I like MS doing it, and many others professed their hate for it too. So the irony I see is Sony doing a good deal for themselves and NOT hurting any other players by reducing access to IP's, but then getting called out for not doing what we all hated! I wish all the format holders conducted themselves in this manner - and I sincerely hope they keep a broader outlook as they go forward.

Thanks for replying, stay safe.

@Shepherd_Tallon sports games can never be exclusive.

@Titntin thanks for the respectful comment friend, I wish everyone could share your sentiment. I think from microsoft's side the third party exclusives are especially ironic given that Phil Spencer has been very outspoken against them 😂. Have a nice day. ❤️

@Perturbator Japan Studio merged with another Sony Studio, Firesprite are ex Studio Liverpool(Wipeout devs)

If Sony bought EA the would get Codemaster(and they got ex Evolusion Studio devs(Motorstorm)

@Apfelschteiner I would say MS did not put as much dedication into their games and relied more heavily on 3rd party.

Bungie is a love service developer and live service is as dirty of a word as microtransactions. When Sony states their intent of buying bungie to bolster their live service games, I'm reminded of when Nintendo started to get into mobile games. Nothing good will come from their partnership.