A landmark deal was announced today (January 31), with Sony acquiring Bungie for $36 billion And while many expect Sony to lock in Bungie games like "Destiny 2" to the PS5, the Tokyo-based company claims it plans to do the opposite

"Destiny" and the new IPs Bungie is currently developing will be multiplatform titles, said PlayStation head Jim Ryan in an interview with GamesIndustrybiz Furthermore, the deal with Bungie is part of Sony's larger strategy to offer large-scale, multiplatform, live-service online games

"I've been public about scaling the PlayStation community and expanding beyond the historic console heartland," Ryan said in an interview covering Sony's ambitious plans 'This could take many forms And definitely one of the main ones is to make sure that the great games we've been making for the past 25 years are enjoyed in different places and in different ways We are starting to go multi-platform, and we want to make sure that people can enjoy our games in different ways, in different places

In recent years, Sony has ported PlayStation titles like "Days Gone," "Horizon Zero Dawn," "Death Stranding" and "God of War" to the PC While that has allowed these one-off exclusives to reach beyond the PlayStation, they are all single-player experiences, and multiplayer titles like "Destiny" will help fill a void in the PlayStation repertoire By continuing to offer "Destiny" and other future titles from Bungie on multiple platforms, the company will be able to succeed beyond the PlayStation ecosystem

Ryan also acknowledges that the gaming industry has changed in recent years In the past, sales of consoles and individual games were the only measure of success Now, thanks to services like Xbox Game Pass, there is a growing demand (and expectation) for subscription services that can be played on many devices

"Over the past few years, the way people play games has changed dramatically," says Ryan We've built an incredible fortune over the last 25 years with characters that people all over the world love and identify with" We are thrilled to offer the opportunity for people to enjoy that experience in a completely different way I can't go into detail today, but we have a really great roadmap for how to do that"

Regarding live service titles, Ryan said that it would make more sense for Sony to have Bungie have expertise in such titles, rather than creating its own live service game (or games) from scratch

"I support doing our own [live-service games]," Ryan added

"But when you have the possibility of getting a partner like Bungie, who has been through it all in the past, learned the lessons, and has a great, great team, I'm all for that

Sony doesn't have as deep pockets as Microsoft, but it doesn't plan to stop acquiring companies

"We should definitely expect more," Ryan said 'We are by no means done We still have a long way to go as far as PlayStation is concerned I personally am going to spend a lot of time with Pete [Parsons] and the team at Bungie to help make sure that everything beds down correctly and autonomy means autonomy But there has to be a lot more movement elsewhere in the organization"

Today's announcement marks a shift in Sony's gaming strategy; while it will certainly continue to push people toward the PS5 and its exclusive titles, the company is also aware of the current gaming landscape and is adjusting accordingly Project Spartacus is Xbox Game Pass is reportedly PlayStation's answer to the Xbox Game Pass, and the deal with Bungie may make its subscription service more attractive

Sony also released its quarterly earnings estimates, and while the company as a whole is doing well, PS5 production is slowing A shift to live services may help Sony's long-term strategy, especially if it becomes less dependent on physical hardware

It remains to be seen how Bungie's relationship with Sony will play out, but we will keep you posted as this story develops