NEW DELHI: Japanese conglomerate Sony has closed the USD 3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, the developer of Destiny and the original creator of the hugely popular Halo franchise.

"The deal to buy Bungie has been finalised. Consequently, we can now formally welcome you to the PlayStation family "Late on Friday, the company said in a tweet.

While Microsoft's USD 68.7 billion purchase of "Call of Duty" developer Activision Blizzard is the subject of legal investigations in the US, the UK, and South Korea, the Sony-Bungie transaction escaped antitrust inquiry.

Bungie's CEO Pete Parsons SAIDin a statement earlier this year that the company would "continue to independently publish and creatively develop our games." One of Microsoft Xbox's major series was Halo, however after a few sequels, Bungie was split off as a separate business.

Bungie released the wildly popular Destiny game in 2013. 

Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, said, "We will be ready to welcome and support Bungie as they continue to expand, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this fantastic team." 

By March 2026, Sony announced it would release more than ten new live service games after acquiring Bungie. Last year, Bungie announced that its upcoming IP would debut before 2025. However, it is only one of the ten games, and Eurogamer notes that there are indications that there are many more in the works.

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