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FTC to investigate Sony's acquisition of Bungie

The government organization will take a closer look at the ethics behind Sony's pending acquisition of Bungie.

Donovan Erskine

May 6, 2022 7:25 AM

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Earlier this year, Sony announced that it would be acquiring Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. With this being such a massive purchase, it’s going to take a while for it to actually become official. Now it looks like this particular deal may take even longer to reach completion, as it’s been revealed that the FTC is launching a probe into Sony’s attempt to acquire Bungie.

It was first reported by The Information that the Federal Trade Commision would be opening an investigation into Sony’s Bungie purchase. Though the report states that it’s unlikely the deal will be blocked, the closing could be delayed by six weeks as a result of the review.

The FTC is specifically concerned that PlayStation will take its newly acquired studio and IP and block them from opposing platforms, like Xbox. One of the biggest worries amongst fans following acquisitions is the possibility that certain developers or games will become platform-exclusives. It appears that this is of high concern for the FTC as well. However, Sony did state that it intends to keep Destiny 2 as a cross-platform after the deal officially closes.

If the FTC probe finds that Sony’s Bungie acquisition harms consumers and the competition, it could be deemed an antitrust violation. The FTC and antitrust violations became a talking point earlier this year following the company’s lawsuit against Facebook.

Multi-billion dollar mergers within the entertainment industry have become a growing concern in recent years, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the FTC wants to take a closer look at Sony’s Bungie acquisition. The group also wanted to learn more about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. You can count on Shacknews to continue reporting on the business rumblings of the entertainment world.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_