Video game company acquisitions have gradually become larger, with Microsoft acquiring ZeniMax Media and Activision Blizzard recently, or Sony acquiring Insomniac Games in 2019. Destiny 2's developer was independent following its split from Activision until today when it was confirmed Sony is acquiring Bungie for $3.6 billion. Bungie's statements after the news confirmed it will retain full creative control over its games, and no PlayStation-exclusives are planned. Many players were quick to worry about what will happen to Destiny 2 and future Bungie releases.
Bungie's multiplatform promise after the Sony acquisition could turn the tables on Xbox because of the different approach these companies seem to have with their latest purchases. This type of deal could be the result of Bungie's previous experiences with Microsoft first, and with Activision later; both of which the Bellevue studio paid a high price to walk out of. If the multiplatform promise holds true, it's safe to assume that Destiny 2 has the potential for big growth in the near future once the late Year 5 Seasons go into development alongside the Lightfall expansion.
Bungie's Past, Present, and Future After the Sony Acquisition
Bungie is known for its work on Halo, which made Xbox the go-to platform for competitive shooters for many years - older Halo game servers on Xbox 360 only shut down recently. Still, Bungie gave up its Halo rights when it parted ways with Microsoft in search of its own independence, though this was partly given up with a deal to publish Destiny and later Destiny 2 with Activision. Bungie was one of the largest and most long-standing independent video game studios around, and seeing its troubled history with the partnerships, it seems weird to some fans that the company would seal a deal with Sony.
Still, Destiny 2 is one of the most-played games every year across multiple platforms, and with cross-play debuting recently it wouldn't have made sense to make it a PlayStation-exclusive game. That's why Bungie's new Sony deal could make more room for growth in Destiny 2, seeing how the game has a clear path to complete its Light and Dark saga in 2024 with Lightfall and The Final Shape expansions. The premise for the Destiny Content Vault introduced in Beyond Light was that it was meant to let Destiny 2 grow with more expansions and sandbox updates while reducing loading times and keeping the game polished.
That's when the plans for Destiny 3 were debunked by Bungie, which means the studio is willing to invest more into Destiny 2 to make it the "best action MMO on any platform," as per Joe Blackburn on Twitter after the Sony deal announcement. This is not hard to believe, because Destiny 2 has been growing more over the past few years. Year 4 was one of the best yet thanks to a compelling overarching narrative and exciting gameplay additions. There are many implications to the Sony deal that will remain untold, but it's safe to assume that Bungie has learned from its experiences and secured a good deal for its future with Destiny 2.
How Destiny 2 Could Grow With the Sony Partnership
Prior to Year 4, many Destiny 2 fans believed that the highest point of the game was achieved with Year 2 content, starting with Forsaken, which Activision's funds contributed to. Forsaken was indeed a huge campaign that branched into the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City as well, introducing a fantastic new Raid, and some of the best Seasons with Black Armory and Season of Opulence. Year 2 was also exceptional with regard to Raid releases, including The Last Wish with Forsaken, then Black Armory's Scourge of the Past, and finally Season of Opulence's Crown of Sorrow.
Some players believe Sony's acquisition of Bungie will lead to Destiny 2 going back to those days, possibly coming with more than one new Raid per year and even topping previous records with the state of the game. While this is not an impossible outcome, at least when Lightfall releases, players shouldn't get their hopes too high for the time being. The deal is freshly sealed, and The Witch Queen has yet to be released.
If Bungie does get more funds for the development of Destiny 2 - or at least extra help from Sony developers - it's not unlikely that the acquisition will change things up in the near future, but for the best. For example, this could lead to no delays on the release of Lightfall and The Final Shape, as well as the freedom to hire more developers and include features and changes in every update that are more meaningful and frequent. In the grand scheme of things, the Bungie-Sony deal seems to be a good thing for Destiny 2's future, and it also makes the release of The Witch Queen but a stepping stone to what Lightfall and The Final Shape can be.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.