Sony's purchase of Bungie is now complete

Sony have completed their purchase of Destiny developers Bungie. The $3.6 billion acquisition was first announced back in January, and Bungie tweeted yesterday that they were “proud to officially join the incredible team at PlayStation.”

We are proud to officially join the incredible team at PlayStation, we are excited for the future of our company, and we are inspired to bring together players from all over the world to form lasting friendships and memories.

Per Audacia ad Astra! https://t.co/trVT3s0BTE pic.twitter.com/YQbnLrnAQW

— Bungie (@Bungie) July 15, 2022

In response to inevitable questions, Bungie reiterated what they said back in January in a tweet: “Destiny 2 will remain on multiple platforms. Our games will continue to be where our community is, wherever they choose to play.”

The above tweet also links to their longer statement back in January, which said that the “most immediate change you will see is an acceleration in hiring talent across the entire studio to support our ambitious vision.” Bungie have been working on a new IP over the past year or two, with several members of the Destiny 2 moving over to the new project.

Back in May, it was reported that the US Federal Trade Commission had opened an investigation into the acquisition, which it was thought could set the deal back by six months. I guess not.

In the past couple of months, Bungie have been one of the most outspoken development studios regarding the US Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe vs. Wade, writing in a statement that they are “committed to ensuring that every one of our employees and their families have safe and affordable access to essential healthcare needs.” Sony had allegedly initially blocked internal studios from commenting on the issue. By contrast, an IGN report late last year included comments from 26 current and former Bungie employees who alleged they experienced “overt sexism, boys’ club culture, crunch, and HR protection of abusers, as well as more complex stories of microaggressions, systemic inequalities, and difficulties in being heard” at the studio.”

Sony’s purchase of Bungie is just one of dozens of major studio acquisitions to take place over the past three years. Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is ongoing and under investigation by regulators in the UK and US.