Destiny Falls under Sony’s Jurisdiction after the Bungie Acquisition

Sony, the owner of PlayStation, made the acquisition of Bungie, the studio mostly known for its Destiny franchise, two days ago for $3.6 billion.

This deal follows the recent Activision Blizzard acquisition by console-rival Microsoft for $68.7 billion.

Bungie was also responsible for creating the Halo series, which stood out as the launch title for the original Xbox. However, the game will remain an Xbox exclusive under 343 Industries. As of today, Destiny, a sci-fi looter-shooter experience launched in 2014 remains its flagship franchise.

Bungie

In “Destiny 2: Our Shared Vision”, Bungie’s developers stated that neither Destiny 2 nor any new intellectual properties will become PlayStation exclusive. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan also confirmed that this is part of their strategy. Instead of solidifying an exclusive, the deal bolsters Sony’s efforts in creating online, live-service games.

Of the recent major acquisitions in console-war history, Microsoft has the high ground. After all, the Microsoft-Bethesda deal and the near $70-billion Microsoft-Activision agreement have set the bar high. However, it seems these deals are not all about the alleged console war. Sony and Bungie’s statements, as well as Microsoft’s policy towards the Call of Duty series all point towards that direction.

Sony vs Microsoft

Microsoft still has a competitive edge in terms of esports, with Halo, Call of Duty, and Overwatch in its arsenal. Destiny 2, though a popular FPS, is arguably not an esports title. In fact, the game’s competitive scene has recently lost its last great support in Kenny Vaccaro and his G1 org, which is now focused on Halo competition.

We will never completely abandon Destiny. We are staying on the Destiny content side now. Just moving away from the tourney/“pro” scene. There is no dev support on that portion of the game and that’s ok. I basically spent over 20k out of my own pocket to keep that scene relevant. https://t.co/WPXlCT6INt

— G1 Savage (@kennyvaccaro) December 30, 2021

The former NFL safety Vaccaro, also known as G1 Savage, launched Gamers First in early December with four Destiny creators in addition to its four pro Halo players. In late December, Vaccaro announced G1 would have to move away from the Destiny scene.

Written by Katy Rigol

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