The massive Sony-Bungie deal worth $3.6 billion is expected to be approved by the end of the year, reports PlayStation Lifestyle.
sony bungie
This claim was made by Sony during their recently concluded earnings call, which is where they also said that the PS5 didn't sell as much as they expected it to. In the report, it was revealed that the deal is "currently under review by the relevant authority," though they didn't say which relevant authority this is. Either way, the expected window of the Sony-Bungie deal closure is between October 1st and December 31st.
If it pushes through, then this would mean that PlayStation Studios would be starting 2023 with a very strong lineup of developers. But if it doesn't, there are still reports that the deal would be finalized in early 2023.
Despite the deal pushing through, however, it won't mean that Bungie, the makers of Destiny and the original Halo series, will be a first-party PlayStation Studios member. Instead, they made it clear in the deal that they want to still operate independently.
This means that future games from the studio won't be PlayStation exclusives if they do so wish. They can still release their games on other platforms such as Xbox and PC. You can read the financial results on Sony.com if you'd like to check it out.
The aforementioned Sony-Bungie deal was the next multi-billion-dollar acquisition attempt since Microsoft announced its $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard. Considering how Bungie itself has made a solid name in the industry over the years, this was still considered a landmark deal even if the price is nowhere near close to that of Microsoft's.
For now, the deal's chances lie at the hands of the investigating party - which rumors say is actually the United States' Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to VG247, the FTC is conducting an "in-depth" investigation into the merger which started close to the end of April 2022.
It is said to focus on the possibility that Sony could make Bungie's games exclusive to PlayStation - though it is now widely believed that this isn't the case.
Read also: Uncharted Hero Nathan Drake Is Still Retired, Says Director
Why Did Sony Buy Bungie In The First Place?
When onlookers learned about the details of the deal, they were understandably perplexed. Bungie made it very clear that they wanted to be independent from the get-go. So if not for exclusivity rights, why was there a takeover attempt in the first place?
Detail of the logo on a Sony PlayStation 5 home video game console, taken on October 29, 2020
PCGamer says that the deal is not really about games, but about multimedia streaming. They say that it was made clear by this line: "Sony Interactive Entertainment believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become." It's quite obvious if you dive deep into those words: game IPs should not be limited to just games, but other media like TV shows or movies.
Considering how Sony has already released Uncharted to considerable box office success, seeing a Bungie IP like Destiny be turned into a film or a TV series is not far off. Heck, the company even has its own film production subsidiary: Sony Pictures.
This is a developing story.
Related: PS5 Sales Fall Short Of Sony's Expectations By Millions Of Units
Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce
