Destiny 2 developer Bungie recently found its way into news headlines after speaking out in support of Roe v Wade. After the Supreme Court leak that showed a possible plan to overturn the historic case, Bungie voiced its opinion on the controversial matter, not holding back as it claimed that overturning Roe v Wade would be a "blow to freedom in America." While some fans supported Bungie in its statement, others believed that the game developer should stick to creating video games.
However, it seems that Bungie won't be quieting down anytime soon, as the company recently stated that even with Sony's imminent acquisition, it will continue to voice its opinion and "stand up for what's right." Some fans were concerned that due to Sony's recent controversy around reproductive rights that Bungie would be unable to speak on political matters following the acquisition. Notably, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan sent an email in which he remarked that employees should respect "differences of opinion."
Insomniac President Ted Price revealed that Sony wouldn't approve any statements on reproductive rights when the developer wished to make its own statement similarly to Bungie. However, both Sony and Insomniac recently donated to a reproductive rights organization, and a Bungie community manager has attempted to put fears to rest, stating on Twitter that "we are, and will continue to be, Bungie. There will never be a 'muzzle' big enough to stop us." Fans seemed pleased with the message and were further reassured by the response of Bungie CEO Pete Parsons, who replied to the community manager's post with a simple "Yes."
For employees and PlayStation fans who do have a strong opinion about reproductive rights, it was disheartening to see Jim Ryan's aforementioned email, which darted around the topic before diving into a story about his cats' birthdays. While Bungie does state for the moment that the acquisition won't result in the company producing similar emails, there is no telling how time will change this, as despite the Sony acquisition being announced towards the beginning of 2022, it still hasn't officially happened yet.
While Sony waits for the deal to go through, the FTC is investigating the Bungie acquisition. There don't seem to be any major reasons for the FTC's probe at the moment, but it appears that the Federal Trade Commission is working to have a closer eye on deals within the tech and gaming industry. Previously, it investigated the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft deal following accusations of insider trading.