In the gaming world, there is no bigger rivalry than the one between Sony and Microsoft. It goes back decades and revolves around each companies’ gaming system and exclusive titles, like PlayStation vs. Xbox and Halo vs. God of War. And while there is no actual malaise between the two companies, fans passionately rally behind their system and game of choice.
Last month, Microsoft fans rejoiced as the company announced it acquired Activision Blizzard — one of the largest game developers with titles such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Overwatch. The deal was valued at $68.7 billion.
Now, Sony fans are getting their moment of joy. On Tuesday, the company announced it would be acquiring Bungie, another popular game developer, for the tune of $3.6 billion.
“Bungie makes games with outstanding technology that are enormously fun to play. They also have unmatched dedication to the communities that play their games, and everyone at PlayStation and PlayStation Studios, will be excited about what we can share and learn from them,” Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, wrote in a blog post on PlayStation’s website.
Bungie is based in Bellevue and has a long history of working with Microsoft, according to TechCrunch. In 2001, Bungie announced it would be working on a first-person shooter game intended for Apple computers but the company was instead bought by Microsoft. The game was turned into Halo and became an Xbox exclusive. In 2013, both Bungie and Microsoft parted ways but Microsoft kept the rights to Halo.
While Sony will not get the rights to Halo with its acquisition of Bungie, it does get access to the Destiny series and Bungie’s various other titles.
Bungie’s CEO Pete Parsons said that despite joining the PlayStation ecosystem, Bungie will have total creative control over current and future games.
“Since taking flight in 1991, Bungie has always charted the future with our own star map — a path that is driven by our people and for our community,” Parsons wrote in the blog post.
