Sony is spending $1.2 billion to retain Bungie staff

Sony’s acquisition of Bungie is the news of the week, with more information coming out daily. Furthering the company’s plan to use Bungie as a way to aid their live service games, Sony has confirmed in a recent earnings report that it plans to use one-third of the $3.6 billion dollars on retention of current employees.

These reports come from an FY Q3 2021 report from Sony itself, outlining the Bungie acquisition in more financial detail.

As Bungie is a private company, many of the shares are owned by existing employees, which Sony hopes to incentivize their retention over the long-term, paying “amounts over a period of several years.” The company plans to pay out two-thirds of the $1.2 billion (roughly $800 million) within the first two years of the closing of the deal. The amounts paid to employees are conditional, on the basis of their continued employment at Bungie.

The earnings report also confirms that Bungie will remain an independent publisher, despite being a part of SIE. This is also credited to the success of God of War receiving critical and financial success on PC when it released a few weeks ago. Sony hopes to acquire new users and increase engagement on platforms other than PlayStation.