An unredacted copy of an interview from 2022 reveals PlayStation boss Jim Ryan’s thoughts on the Microsoft-Acquisition merger. PlayStation completed the acquisition of Bungie back in July last year when they announced that Bungie would continue to publish and develop games independently.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard meanwhile will soon be heading to a conclusion as the UK has finally given its nod as well. With only Australia still reviewing the merger, Microsoft is hoping to have the merger concluded next month before the deadline passes.
PlayStation’s Bungie Acquisition Compared With Microsoft’s Activision Merger
It was announced back in January last year, that Bungie would be joining PlayStation, announced by Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, and Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie. The acquisition was completed by July last year after a deal worth approximately $3.7 billion was agreed. In comparison, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was worth around $69 billion.
Also Read: Bungie’s Third Game In Development Will Apparently Be Comedic
In an interview last year, Sony President Jim Ryan spoke about the Bungie deal and shared his thoughts on the Game Pass subscription model, while also touching upon the subject of Microsoft’s massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS5/comments/16q8m8k/sie_president_jim_ryans_qa_with_investors_from/
When asked if Sony ever thought of acquiring Activision themselves, Ryan mentioned that the relationship between Sony and Activision has always been extremely good as they’ve always been Sony’s principal partners. Ryan went on to mention that he felt that Sony gained more from the $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie compared to Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision considering its capital.
Also Read: Details Emerge Regarding the MOBA That Bungie is Working On For PlayStation
Game Pass Subscribers Count Surprised Jim Ryan
When asked for his thoughts on Game Pass subscriptions, Ryan mentioned that PS Plus had twice the number of subscribers to what was reported about Game Pass by Microsoft back in January last year. Microsoft had revealed that there were 25 million Game Pass subscribers in January 2022 and Ryan mentioned that he was quite surprised about the number as he expected “a larger number given all the money they have spent”.
Ryan also revealed at the time that there were already close to “50 million PS Plus subscribers”, which he believed was a more meaningful subscription service. Microsoft hasn’t talked about the Game Pass subscriber count as often as expected, as the January 2022 revelation was the last time anyone had heard about the subscriber count.
That 25 million mark is estimated to have significantly increased as there was a hint dropped by Microsoft earlier this month after Starfield‘s release that there has been a significant increase in both Game Pass subscribers and console sales as well.
Ryan also touched upon future plans as he sees Sony bringing out more single-player games with “graphically beautiful narrative” which he believes will be the “bedrock” of Sony’s first-party publishing business. Ryan also mentioned that the expectation is to see first-person games bring “slightly greater sales and profitability”, reflecting Sony’s confidence in the long-term plans for both PS5 exclusives and future PC ports.
From the Bungie partnership, Ryan mentioned the plan was to have a premier live service publisher working with the Sony group and Bungie fit the bill perfectly. Bungie is currently working on Destiny 2‘s final chapter, The Final Shape, which is expected to come out on the 27th of February 2024. Bungie also clarified that the company will retain complete creative independence all the way through Destiny 2‘s final chapter comes out next year.
Which of the two significant acquisitions managed to get your attention so far? Make sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
Source: Reddit
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