PlayStation has just announced a new, even closer collaboration with Bungie to ensure “rigorous” control of its live games under development. In a trade webcast, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) reaffirmed its commitment to have 12 live service titles on the market by March 2026, a significant increase from the three live games released in its last fiscal year. tax.
Sony relies on Bungie’s experience in games live service
SIE expects live games to account for 60% of its annual game development budget by the end of this period. The move marks a major shift for SIE, known primarily for single-player games such as God of War and The Last of Us.
SIE sees Destiny’s studio, Bungie, as a vital part of ensuring the success of these titles by leveraging Bungie’s deep experience in the live-action genre. As a reminder, Sony acquired Bungie last year for $3.6 billion.
The timing of this announcement is particularly noteworthy, as a live service game in development at PlayStation-backed Deviation Games was recently cancelled.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has expressed his satisfaction with working with Bungie over the past ten months. According to him, the two companies mutually benefit from this relationship, with Bungie taking advantage of SIE’s extensive global marketing network. Ryan said:
“We’ve been working with Bungie for almost a year and the lessons learned back and forth have been very significant. They’ve exceeded my expectations and likewise I think Bungie is extremely excited about what’s to come. they can benefit from SIE in terms of market access, marketing, collaboration and the ability to amplify their intellectual property.
We brought a lot to Bungie, just as they certainly brought a lot to us. Historically, Bungie had a strong US focus, with its intellectual property underutilized in key markets in Europe and Asia. SIE is extremely strong and experienced in Europe and Asia, and we’re just beginning to reinvigorate Bungie’s presence and awareness of its games in those regions. I would also say that we have a marketing machine that I think is world class. By using it to promote Bungie’s games, intellectual property and brand, I believe it will achieve a level of fame and volume of business never seen before.”
Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, explained how Bungie was involved with all of the live service’s in-development games. Among the 12 titles currently in development are an online game based on The Last of Us, a Horizon online game, and new intellectual property developed by the London studio. Hulst said this:
“The lessons learned from Bungie have been very important in many areas. When developing live games, you need different capabilities than those required for single-player narrative games. The capabilities we have implemented within PlayStation Studios have been enhanced and guided by Bungie. We also have a better understanding of what it means to be successful in live services. Launching a game is just the beginning, and it comes with a host of different performance metrics.
During the call, Jim Ryan also confirmed that SIE is in “discussions” regarding the possibility of exploiting Bungie’s intellectual properties in areas other than games, a prospect the company considers important.
