Why Sonys Bungie acquisition shouldnt worry Microsoft

Date:
Wed, 02 Feb 2022 12:21:25 +0000

Description:
Sonys acquisition of Bungie has got tongues wagging, but Microsoft shouldnt
be worried about the short-term impact of the deal.

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Another week, another major acquisition in the video game industry. This time its Bungie thats been bought out , with Sony announcing that it had acquired the Destiny 2 developer for $3.6 billion on January 31.

Sonys buyout of Bungie could be seen as an immediate response to Microsofts seismic takeover of Activision Blizzard (which is now being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission). But its actually a more complicated deal, and one thats unlikely to affect Xbox gamers directly if at all. It is, however, a deal that makes logical sense for Sony, and for PlayStation as a whole.

The key point to keep in mind regarding Sonys Bungie acquisition is that the Destiny 2 developer is set to remain completely independent. The studio has made it clear that Destiny 2 , including any future in-game content or new IP created by Bungie, will not be exclusive to PlayStation consoles. At the very least, it will be down to Bungies discretion where its future games and content end up, not Sony.

In an FAQ on Bungies website, the company responded to questions about
whether future games in development will become PlayStation exclusive. No,
the statement reads. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community. Destiny calls (Image credit: Bungie)

Thats pretty clear-cut, then, and it means that Destiny 2 wont suddenly
become a PlayStation exclusive, nor will Sony be ordering Bungie to get to work on a Halo-killer anytime soon. We also wont see any of Bungies games siphoned off onto Sonys subscription services. Bungie will continue to
operate independently, just like before the acquisition.

Thats a very different situation from Sonys recent acquisitions of Returnal developer Housemarque, remake masters Bluepoint Games , Playroom maker Firesprite, PC port specialists Nixxes Software, and God of War support
studio Valkyrie Entertainment. These studios are now tasked with developing exclusive content for PlayStation systems (and potentially PC), which wont be available anywhere else.

And that fundamentally means that Sonys Bungie buyout isnt the same as Microsofts pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We already know that the Redmond-based company is planning to add as many Activision Blizzard titles as it can to Xbox Game Pass in the future.

Microsofts recent Bethesda acquisition has also shown that any acquired studios will slowly begin to make exclusive games for Xbox and PC. Starfield
, Redfall , and The Elder Scrolls 6 are no longer coming to PlayStation, for example, and while Call of Duty will remain on PS5 for the foreseeable
future, theres no guarantee that will always be the case. A long-term
approach (Image credit: Sony)

The impact of Sonys Bungie acquisition wont be felt directly by Xbox gamers, then, but rather Sony is banking on Bungies unique expertize to help it develop new games in an area where its arguably lagged behind: games as a service (GaaS), which are also known as live-service games. We now know it's planning to release 10 live-service games before 2026 .

Microsoft already has several successful GaaS titles like Sea of Thieves , State of Decay 2, Halo Infinite , Forza Horizon 5 in its portfolio, which receive frequent updates and have long life cycles.

Sony, meanwhile, has established itself as the leader of single-player narrative-driven titles, like The Last of Us 2 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales
. These games can often be completed after a few hours, and offer little long-term longevity other than the promise of future downloadable content.

In buying Bungie, Sony now has a developer that not only knows how to create live-service games but is also responsible for creating one of the most popular GaaS titles to date. Thats a huge positive for Sony, and is an investment that will come to fruition in the years to come. Gestation period (Image credit: Polyphony Digital)

Sonys Bungie deal is odd in many respects, but ultimately proves that Sony is confident in its existing studios. It doesnt need to make Destiny 2 and
future Bungie games exclusive to its platform to entice more users; games
like Gran Turismo 7 , Horizon Forbidden West , and God of War: Ragnarok already accomplish that. Instead, Sony is banking on adding another feather
to its already impressive plumage by creating compelling live-service games using its existing or new IP.

Microsoft neednt worry about Sonys Bungie acquisition, then, but at the same time itll have some new competition in a space that was previously only occupied by other third-party publishers. And competition is fundamentally always a good thing for gamers. PS5 vs Xbox Series X : which is right for you?



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/why-sonys-bungie-acquisition-shouldnt-worry-mic rosoft/


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