Earlier this week Sony announced it was buying the Destiny developer for $3.6bn, while Bungie promised its games would remain multiplatform. Now, in an earnings call Q&A, Sony exec Hiroki Totoki was asked what benefits Bungie would receive from Sony. The answer: multi-dimensional support. “[It’s] not just for [the] gaming area, but the multi-using of IP and merchandising of IP - like a game title maybe put into movies,” said Totoki, transcribed by IGN. “Bungie want to nurture the IP they have in a multi-dimensional manner, and that’s their hope. For that, we believe we can help that - we have [Sony] Pictures and [Sony] Music, and Bungie can leverage our platform so that their IP can flourish and grow big.” This is, of course, in addition to hiring and employee retention. It has emerged Sony will spend $1.2bn over several years in order to keep Bungie staff at the studio. There’s already been much speculation as to how the Destiny brand could grow. Last year Bungie began hiring for a new senior executive to drive Destiny into new categories like TV, films, books, and comics. It seems that Sony could make that a reality. For Sony, it’s planning to launch ten new live service games, of which Bungie are likely offering a new project.
