Sony acquired Bungie back in July 2022 at $3.6 billion but decided to respect the studio’s multiplatform offerings. The same was respected by Microsoft during Xbox’s acquisition of Activision. However, things look dire for Bungie at present, as it is facing many issues that might lead to a full takeover under Sony.
In October 2023, Bungie ended up firing many employees which put down the morale within the company. This is done so that the company can still function from within its financial threshold. The decision wasn’t as great, because the productivity of the team has dropped drastically. Thus, the idea of Sony taking over the company completely to put it on track might be possible.
Many notable insiders like Tom Warren have also talked about the “soul-crushing atmosphere” at the studio. Moreover, with a series of mismanagement issues, a shift in power could be on the way. Not only that, the studio is also not able to give a financial boost to its parent company, which is concerning for Sony.
Bungie had problems with Microsoft…Bungie had problems with Activision…Now Bungie has problems with Sony Thank God Microsoft gave up on buying Bungie and let Sony take over this problematic studio pic.twitter.com/zfX0MEPedL
— Sub-Scorpion (@SSubSScorpion) December 7, 2023
This news makes fans wonder if Bungie offerings like Destiny and Marathon might become a PlayStation exclusive. However, Sony might not choose to go that way since these games are meant to have a massively multiplayer experience, which includes Xbox and PC players. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the first Destiny game was a PlayStation exclusive.
If Sony ends up taking the full lead on Bungie, they might greenlight another exclusive. This will also be a good move for increasing PlayStation sales as many might be willing to shift to the console.
Will Sony take the exclusive route after acquiring Bungie?
After the acquisition of Activision by Microsoft, Sony can get the upper hand by taking full control of Bungie. Moreover, they can also push the studio to release Destiny 3, and turn it into a PlayStation 5 exclusive. Still, the chances of this happening are low as the player base is quite diverse on other platforms too.
Lots of sad and shocking details in this well-reported story about Bungie’s latest cultural crisis by @duckvalentine. One theme behind this year’s industry layoffs is that even the most successful live-service games can’t keep growing forever https://t.co/qx2ZKcBOqN
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) December 6, 2023
At the same time, Bungie revealed that they will be reviving their old shooter franchise called Marathon, with up-to-date graphics and new gameplay. This shooter is also meant to be multiplatform on release, making the exclusive route less viable. However, there is no saying if other titles in the future would come to all platforms.
