Sony buys Halo creator Bungie in US$3.6 billion deal as gaming fight heats up
- The move comes after Microsoft’s landmark US$69 million pact to acquire Activision Blizzard, making it the third-largest gaming company by revenue
- The Halo franchise is considered to be among the video games that contributed to the popularity of Microsoft’s Xbox consoles
PlayStation maker Sony announced a US$3.6 billion agreement on Monday to buy US video game studio Bungie, creator of hits like Halo and Destiny, as a gaming industry battle heats up with Microsoft.
Sony’s deal comes weeks after Microsoft unveiled a landmark US$69 billion pact to acquire Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft says would make it the third-largest gaming company by revenue behind Tencent and Sony.
Bungie is based not far from Microsoft headquarters in the US state of Washington, and its Halo franchise is considered to be among the video games that contributed to the popularity of Xbox consoles.
“This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience,” Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Jim Ryan said of the Bungie buy.
Since it was founded in early 1991, Bungie has created games for play on rival PlayStation and Xbox consoles as well as on computers powered by Microsoft Windows software.