Sony Corp. (SONY) is acquiring privately held video game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion U.S., adding to industry consolidation that has taken place in recent weeks.
Bungie is the company behind the popular multiplayer shooter games “Destiny” and “Halo.”.
While smaller than both Take-Two Interactive’s $12.7 billion U.S. purchase of Zynga and Microsoft’s recently announced $69 billion U.S. Activision Blizzard acquisition, Sony agreed to buy the company that, with Halo, helped launch Microsoft’s first Xbox video game console back in 2001.
Technology companies are increasingly interested in gaming as they look to expand audiences and prepare for future iterations of virtual- and augmented-reality devices.
Bungie will continue to operate independently within Sony after the acquisition, the companies said in a written statement. The video game developer’s most recent hit is “Destiny 2,” which will continue to be offered on multiple gaming platforms.
Sony develops the PlayStation video game console and is based in San Mateo, California. Its stock closed yesterday (January 31) at $111.66, up 13% over the past 12 months.
