Bungie Was Reportedly ‘Exploring’ Its Own Streaming Platform Before Sony Deal

Time Stamp: February 4, 2022 2:59 PM

Destiny and former Halo developer Bungie was at one point considering launching its own game streaming platform, Business Insider reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

As part of a report about Google’s attempts to course correct on its failing Stadia streaming service, Google reportedly pitched its tech to Bungie, which was already exploring its own potential streaming service. Under the white-label deal, Bungie would own content and control the front-end service, but Google technology would support the platform.

Activision Blizzard Deal Compared to Other Major Acquisitions

Of course, Sony recently announced a decision to purchase Bungie for $3.6 billion. Talks between Bungie and Google apparently made “considerable” progress before the deal, but it remains unclear how the acquisition will impact Google’s plans. Bungie has said it will keep supporting Stadia — Destiny 2 has been one of the service’s marquee attractions — but Sony has an existing deal with Microsoft on cloud gaming infrastructure.

It’s clear that Bungie and Sony’s new partnership is as much about game IP as it is about building out live-service game infrastructure. PlayStation is planning to launch 10 live-service games in the next four years, with Bungie serving as a key partner on the initiative. Bungie was one of the earliest adopters of the games-as-a-service business model in 2014 with Destiny.

Bungie’s experience in live-service games is something Sony plans to capitalize on and incorporate into its own IP, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said during the company’s latest earnings call.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/guardian for IGN.

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