For most people, if you’d have told them six months ago about the upcoming acquisitions in the video game industry, they probably would have laughed out loud. The idea that Microsoft would acquire Activision Blizzard and Sony would acquireBungiesounds like the speculation of fans going through far-future “what if?” scenarios. While each of these major deals comes with its list of pros and cons, they’ll still have a major impact on games as a whole, as well as the companies involved. ForBungie, this likely means a lot more funding and resources to take on some of the projects that have only been lightly discussed in recent months.
While the studio is no stranger to multimedia endeavors from the days when Bungie was working on theHaloseries, theDestinyfranchise is still budding in comparison. ThoughDestiny 2has been able to build up a massive community and already hasover one million preorders for the Witch Queenexpansion, it hasn’t ventured too far away from video games. Sony’s recent buy of Bungie could change this significantly, not only because of a substantial influx of cash to the studio from its acquisition, but also because of Sony’s history of IPs across a wide array of media.
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Destiny and Video Game Streaming Shows
As a company, Sony’s umbrella covers electronics, TV shows, movies, and video games, just to name a few of its most widely consumed products. Recently, this has includedVenom: Let There Be Carnage, which was preceded by three different sets of live-actionSpider-Manmovies, two of which had their own tie-in games. All of this is to say that Sony has experience with properties that are engaged across multiple mediums, and has no problem flexing its muscles when it comes to building franchises with them.
Its PlayStation Originals production studio was even part of theRatchet and Clankmovie before Sony’s 2019 acquisition of Insomniac, the developer forRatchet and Clankas well as theMarvel’s Spider-Mantitles, and could be a great way to gauge what might be in store for both Bungie andDestiny 2’s future. Through past job listings, fans have been able to surmise plans to expandDestiny 2’s story to include future movies, shows, and books. While the exact nature ofDestiny 2’s future multimedia projects is unconfirmed, there’s a lot that can be done following the success of shows and movies based on other video games.
For example,Arcanewas a huge hit drawing in new and veteran fans ofLeague of Legendswhich alongside other game-based Netflix shows, demonstrates how impressive series adaptations can be. Given the live service format thatDestiny 2already uses multimedia extensions of the series only seem to be a matter of time especially with the scope of its narrative. There’s a lot to go through inDestiny 2’s history and only the most recent events are covered in the game, leaving the door open for any future shows or movies that want to cover subjects like the lore behind Savathun, or the expansion of the Cabal empire.
The story thatDestiny 2tells also makes it flexible depending on what paths are chosen. While shows liketheArcaneseries,Castlevania, andDOTA: Dragon’s Bloodare animated,Destiny’s future endeavors don’t have to be. Its sci-fi elements are coupled with space magic, butDestiny’s grounding in a more traditional universe means it could excel in a live-action format as well.
The Witcherseries on Netflix has become an acclaimed example of how toeing the line between the fantastic and the realistic can be done incredibly well, even if the overall subject matter from the game is a little out there. This points to a promising and possible future where multimedia projects that relate toDestiny 2could be successful in either live-action or animated formats.
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Sony Games as Movies and Shows
Underlining these possibilities are Sony productions that are slated to come out this year and are directly tied to video game franchises.The Unchartedmovie that stars Tom Hollandand Mark Wahlberg is set to release in just a couple of weeks, bringing one of PlayStation’s most successful franchises to the big screen. While this might be a “testing the waters situation,” the movie could be successful enough to become a blueprint for similar projects that relate toDestiny.
TheDestinyfranchise itself has a lot of similar potential, and while space magic is a big part of the series, it’s not its only defining trait. Fans should think back to the puzzles and quests that appeared in the game during the Shadowkeep expansion, which led tothe exotic trace rifle Divinityand the exotic machine gun Xenophage. These pulled on the idea of space magic inDestiny 2in the most general sense, but both played out more like treasure hunts than mystical quests to defeat Hive Wizards. Pulling on the design for these activities and some others could make for a more grounded movie that lightly plays with Guardian abilities and the threat of Darkness, instead of a headfirst dive into the most intense parts ofDestiny’s universe.
The Last of UsTV showcould also help pullDestinycontent for movies and shows in a more grounded direction. However, more than anything else, it also displays Sony’s interest in producing long-form series and world-building. This route could be perfect forDestiny, and in all honesty, is one that would be better suited given everything that’s going on in the game. Considering the series deep lore and history, there’s a lot that could be done with the different foundations provided byDestiny 2that might not be feasible for an interactive player experience.
Using a TV show or streaming series to accomplish this is an alternative with multi-season potential and would be worth pursuing in the future. With the umbrella of opportunities provided by Sony, there would be a lot of choice for both the visuals and the overall execution of a series. While an event likeSony’s acquisition of Bungiecan be worrisome for fans, there are still some great opportunities that Bungie and its IPs can now explore thanks to Sony’s history in other industries, which might turn out to be of the biggest positives to come out of this deal.
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