Sony believes it can help Bungie turn its IPs into movies
“Bungie want to nurture the IP they have in a multi-dimensional manner”
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Sony recently announcedits intention to acquireDestiny 2developer, Bungie, for $3.6 billion and in a recent earnings call,Sonyhas suggested the move is about more than games alone.
Speaking during the Q&A segment of the earnings call (viaIGN), Sony CFO, Hiroki Totoki, was askedshortly before the endof the meeting what upsides Sony sees for both itself and Bungie as a result of the acquisition.
As far as benefits for Sony are concerned, Totoki touched on Bungie’s “ability to distribute to a variety of platforms” as well as its experience in developing live service games, saying “we have lots to learn from them, therefore our studios will learn from Bungie.”
As for what Bungie gets out of the deal, Totoki mentioned Sony’s ability to assist the studio with regards to “personnel retention” and recruitment but, more importantly, added that Sony being a multimedia company will be helpful to Bungie.
“[It’s] not just for [the] gaming area,” Totoki explained, “but for the multi-using of IP and merchandising of IPs.” A game title, for instance, “may be put into movies.”
“Bungie want to nurture the IP they have in a multi-dimensional manner, and that’s their hope,” Totoki added, “For that, we believe we can help. We have [Sony] Pictures and [Sony] Music and Bungie can leverage our platform so that their IP can flourish and grow big.”
Analysis: Not the biggest surprise
Totoki’s confirmation of Sony’s intention to help Bungie with a multi-media expansion perhaps won’t come as the biggest surprise. In ablog postannouncing Sony’s acquisition earlier this week, Bungie already made it clear that it’s looking beyond games, writing, “Today, Bungie begins our journey to become a global multi-media entertainment company.”
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Expanding on this, Bungie wrote that in Sony it has “found a partner who unconditionally supports us in all we are and who wants to accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment”, adding, “like us, SIE believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become. Together, we share a dream of creating and fostering iconic franchises that unite friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across multiple platforms and entertainment mediums."
All in all, that feels pretty clear cut. With Sony already expanding its gaming IPs into the world of film and TV with things like the upcomingUncharted movieandThe Last of UsTV series, it feels like a partnership with potential.
As for Sony’s desire to learn from Bungie’s experience in live service games, that makes a whole lot of sense, too, after Sonyconfirmed that it plansto release 10 live service PlayStation games by 2026.
Emma Boyle is TechRadar’s ex-Gaming Editor, and is now a content developer and freelance journalist. She has written for magazines and websites including T3, Stuff and The Independent. Emma currently works as a Content Developer in Edinburgh.
The PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling gives multiple games a huge visual upgrade – can it compete with Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor?
I’m a Nintendo Switch expert, here are the best early Black Friday deals right now
Arcane season 2 confirms the hit series isn’t just one of the best Netflix shows ever made – it’s an animated legend that’ll stand the test of time
