Does Bungie own Halo? – What the Sony deal really means
Earlier, Sony announced that Bungie was being acquired by the entertainment powerhouse and the Destiny 2 developers will be joining Sucker Punch Productions and Naughty Dog as a PlayStation Studio under Hermen Hulst and CEO Jim Ryan. This acquisition has left a lot of people wondering about Halo, who Bungie is still strongly associated with, and titles like Destiny 2 – a live-service game that’s weeks away from its next major expansion.
If you’re wondering if Bungie owns Halo, or what this deal means, here’s what we know.
Does Bungie own Halo?
The short answer here is no, Bungie does not own Halo – anymore. Halo has been developed by 343 Industries since Halo 4 and it remains a Microsoft IP. Halo isn’t coming to PlayStation anytime soon.
What does the Sony deal really mean?
In Jim Ryan’s statement on the acquisition, he stated that this was a “strategic step towards continuing to evolve the gaming experiences that [PlayStation] build.”
As it stands, Destiny 2 is going to remain a multi-platform live service title and Xbox players shouldn’t worry about their looter shooter access being revoked ahead of The Witch Queen in March 2022. Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, has gone on to say that this deal is going to be mutually beneficial and should help the expansion of PlayStation alongside Bungie’s own developments.
From what we know, it seems as though Bungie is going to get an important cash boost from PlayStation and we should expect to see any new titles – or anything from unannounced IPs – from the developer as a PlayStation exclusive. Destiny 2, though, is going to remain a multi-platform experience. You can find Jim Ryan’s statement here and Hermen Hulst’s statement here.
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Bungie will remain “in charge of [their] destiny” as a studio – however, there’s clearly a benefit for both parties in this deal. We’ll just have to see what Sony does with their latest acquisition.
