In announcing PlayStation’s acquisition of Bungie, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan stated that the two companies want to collaborate on multiple live service games. This morning, PlayStation revealed the terms of the $3.6 billion deal, stating that Bungie will continue to operate independently and across many platforms.
This means that Destiny 2 and any other projects in the works by the Halo creator will not be exclusive to the Sony-owned family of systems. Sony has experimented with the live service area in the past to some extent. For example, before the word “live service” entered the lexicon, the PS3 featured MAG, the suitably titled enormous action game developed by SOCOM outfit Zipper Interactive.
Second-party collaborations have similarly allowed PlayStation to explore persistent online gameplay, most notably with IllFonic’s Predator: Hunting Grounds, which remains a PC and PS4-only experience. Notably, PlayStation collaborated with IllFonic once more for Arcadegeddon, an arcadey multiplayer shooter that is currently in early access. The publisher’s goals for live service are certainly expanding, and its latest acquisition will be extremely beneficial in this area. Jim Ryan stated in an SIE Blog post announcing the Bungie acquisition that the development studio’s expertise with online play will be useful in the “creation of multiple upcoming live services products from PlayStation Studios.”
The PlayStation executive specifically stated that Bungie will “assist” in such projects, which he teased further in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. Most significantly, Ryan informed the publication that PlayStation Studios’ live service roadmap is “aggressive,” but he would not provide many specifics. When these efforts will finally bear fruit is also unknown at this time. There are already a few notable initiatives that PlayStation may have categorised as live service experiences internally.
The long-awaited Last of Us Factions multiplayer suite, a solo adventure that has yet to get formal specifics beyond subtle teases and Naughty Dog job listings, is one such game. Many will recall that the publisher also signed a partnership with Deviation Games last year, a firm created by former Call of Duty: Black Ops devs who are presently working on a new multiplayer-focused IP for PlayStation. Bungie may provide its knowledge to one of these projects.
Unsubstantiated reports concerning the hoped-for return of SOCOM have also circulated for some time.
According to LinkedIn personnel information, Horizon and Killzone maker Guerrilla Games began work on a secret PlayStation title more than three years ago. Given that former Rainbow Six: Siege Game Director Simon Larouche joined Guerrilla in 2018, there is still optimism that the Netherlands-based firm would return to its FPS roots in the future.