News of the day: Sony buys Bungie, developer of Destiny and original creator of Halo, for $3.6 billion.

Sony buys Bungie, developer of Destiny and original creator of Halo, for $3.6 billion. The acquisition takes place shortly after the announcement Microsoft's intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal. Bungie "will continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games," Bungie CEO Pete Parsons wrote in a blog post.

“We have found a partner who unconditionally supports us in everything. Who wants to accelerate our creation of generational entertainment while retaining the creative independence that beats at the heart of Bungie,” writes Parsons. “We believe that game worlds are just the beginning of what our IPs can become. Together, we share the dream of creating and growing iconic franchises that bring together friends around the world, families across generations, and fans across platforms and entertainment environments.​

Bungie will remain a multi-platform studio and is bluntly telling the audience that its future games will not be PlayStation exclusives. "No. We want the worlds we create to be distributed wherever people play games. We will continue to self-publish, be creatively independent, and continue to manage the unified Bungie community," writes in the FAQ section about the deal. In this FAQ Bungie also talked about how this acquisition will affect the long-running hit Destiny 2.

This will be the second time Bungie has been bought by a platform owner. Microsoft acquired the studio in June 2000, making its upcoming shooter Halo exclusive to the original 2001 Xbox.

Bungie regained its independence shortly after the launch of Halo 3 in October 2007. She released two more Halo exclusives—Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach—before signing a 10-year contract with Activision that led to the creation of the Destiny franchise.

A source: bungie.net