Sony says more acquisitions are on the way — and it's not just about PS5

Sony says more than acquisitions are on the style — and it'southward not just nearly PS5

(Epitome credit: Bungie)

Sony bought Bungie for $iii.6 billion in a groundbreaking deal announced today (January. 31). And while many expect Sony to lock Bungie games like Destiny two to the PS5, the Tokyo-based visitor insists that it plans to do the opposite.

Destiny and Bungie's currently-in-evolution new IP will be multiplatform titles, said PlayStation head Jim Ryan in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. Moreover, the Bungie bargain is part of Sony's larger strategy to offering large, multiplatform live service online games.

"I've been on record talking about increasing the size of the PlayStation community, and expanding across our celebrated console heartland," Ryan said in the interview, which covers Sony'southward ambitious plans. "This can have many forms. And definitely one of the main ones is the ability for the wonderful games that we've been making over the past 25 years to be enjoyed in different places and played in different ways. We are starting to go multiplatform, you've seen that."

In recent years, Sony has ported PlayStation titles like Days Gone, Horizon Zilch Dawn, Decease Stranding and God of State of war to PC. That has helped bring those 1-time exclusives beyond PlayStation's borders, only they are all single-player experiences. Multiplayer titles like Destiny will help fill a glaring void in the company's repertoire of titles. Keeping Destiny and any other time to come Bungie offerings multiplatform will ensure their success across PlayStation'southward ecosystem.

Ryan besides acknowledges that the gaming industry has changed in recent years. Console and individual game sales were once the sole metric for success. Now, thanks to services like Xbox Game Pass, there has been an increased demand (and expectation) for subscription services that allow people to play on numerous devices.

"The way people play games has changed a lot over the concluding few years," Ryan said. "We have created some wonderful properties over the class of the last 25 years, with characters that people honey and resonate the earth over. Offering the opportunity to savor those experiences in a completely different mode is something that nosotros are very excited about. I can't become into details today, but nosotros take a really astonishing roadmap on how to do that."

Regarding live service titles, Ryan said that, instead of Sony creating its own live service game (or games) from scratch, it made more sense to allow Bungie be the spearhead of such an initiative due to the studio's expertise with such titles.

"I would back us to practice [live-service games] ourselves," Ryan added. "But when you lot have the potential to have a partner like Bungie who has been there, washed it all before, learned the lessons and take got this wonderful, brilliant team who is there and has the potential to help the states... we think we can accept something that would have taken a sure number of years, and significantly decrease the time it will accept to get it right."

destiny 2 witch queen — (Image credit: Bungie)

Though Sony doesn't have the same deep pockets as Microsoft, information technology has no plans to cease purchase companies.

"Nosotros should absolutely expect more," Ryan said. "We are past no means done. With PlayStation, we have a long way to go. I will personally be spending a lot of my time with Pete [Parsons] and the team at Bungie, helping make sure that everything beds down correct and that autonomy means autonomy. But elsewhere in the organization, we take many more than moves to make."

Today's announcement marks a shift in Sony's gaming strategy. Though information technology will certainly continue pushing people toward PS5 and its exclusives, the visitor is also aware of the current gaming landscape and is adjusting accordingly. With Project Spartacus reportedly being PlayStation's answer to Xbox Game Pass, the Bungie deal could make that subscription service that much more than enticing.

Sony also unveiled its quarterly forecast, and while the visitor as a whole is doing well, information technology's having trouble producing more PS5s. A live-service shift could be helpful to Sony's long-term strategy, especially if it's less dependent on physical hardware.

Information technology's still too early to tell how things volition pan out with Bungie and Sony, but nosotros'll keep you posted every bit this story develops.

Tony is a calculating writer at Tom's Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending also much fourth dimension on Twitter. His non-nerdy pursuits involve attending Difficult Rock/Heavy Metal concerts and going to NYC bars with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such equally Laptop Mag, PC Mag, and various contained gaming sites.