Destiny 2: The amount of online players may explain its relevance to Sony
Destiny 2
Sony's $ 3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie may raise a number of questions, given the company's rather high valuation, but Destiny 2's popularity, measured by the amount of players online per day, can give a idea of the importance of the operation.As reported by Tom Warren, journalist of The Verge, Destiny 2 can still count on a large amount of players online on a daily basis: on January 31, for example , in a moment not particularly full of news and events for the game, therefore in an almost tired phase and after several years of presence on the market, there were about 860,000 active players, divided in this way by platform:
355,000 on PlayStation 275,000 on Xbox 224,000 on Steam 5,390 on Stadia
These are the total players during the day, therefore not contemporary, but they still demonstrate a remarkable state of health for a present game on the market for years now.
Perhaps not enough numbers to push Sony to spend nearly $ 4 billion on the Bungie acquisition, but they demonstrate, if nothing else, the company's ability to create a GaaS that can stay active online for a long time. and based on a pretty strong community, which is of strategic importance to Sony.
Jim Ryan has made it clear that he plans to leverage Bungie's capabilities to bolster Sony PlayStation's offering of multiplayer and GaaS games. , so Destiny 2's continued popularity demonstrates wise choice.
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Destiny 2 developer Bungie has been acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion
After Microsoft announced their plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for a mouth watering $70 billion, many PlayStation fans were concerned that their games would become exclusives to the Xbox console. In a bid to fight back, it seems that Sony has decided to make their own big deal by acquiring Destiny 2 developer Bungie.
Of course, Bungie is best known as the original creators of Halo - an Xbox exclusive series - as well as Destiny 2 and all of its expansions. The deal was made with a fraction of the price too: Sony has acquired Bungie for $3.6 billion (still a lot!), which is almost 20 times less than what Microsoft paid for Activision Blizzard.
“We've had a strong partnership with Bungie since the inception of the Destiny franchise, and I couldn't be more thrilled to officially welcome the studio to the PlayStation family,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
“This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience. We understand how vital Bungie's community is to the studio and look forward to supporting them as they remain independent and continue to grow. Like Bungie, our community is core to PlayStation's DNA, and our shared passion for the gamer and building the best place to play will now evolve even further.”
The main point, however, is that Bungie will continue as “an independent subsidiary”, with Sony confirming they will still be able to “self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play.” Essentially meaning Bungie games will remain multiplatform (and most importantly, on PC). The deal also won’t conflict with any upcoming content for Destiny 2 like the Witch Queen.
“In SIE, we have found a partner who unconditionally supports us in all we are and who wants to accelerate our vision to create generation-spanning entertainment, all while preserving the creative independence that beats in Bungie’s heart,” Bungie said in an official announcement.
“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.”
Jim Ryan also commented that this is not the last studio acquisition we’ll see from Sony: “We should absolutely expect more. We are by no means done. With PlayStation, we have a long way to go.”
What do you think? Is this a good deal for Sony? How do you think this will affect us PC players in the future (if at all)? Are you excited for what this deal could mean for new projects by Bungie? And who do you think Sony will acquire next? Let us know!
