Sony to acquire 'Halo' creator Bungie as gaming battle vs Microsoft heats up

PlayStation maker Sony will buy US video game studio Bungie for $3.6 billion as a gaming industry battle heats up with Microsoft.

Bungie is the creator of hits like "Halo" and "Destiny."

Weeks ago, Microsoft reported a $69 billion pact to acquire Activision Blizzard, the maker of "Call of Duty."

Microsoft says the deal would make it the third-largest gaming company by revenue after Tencent and Sony.

Bungie’s "Halo" franchise is deemed among video games that helped popularize Xbox consoles.

Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Jim Ryan said the acquisition of Bungie is an important step to its strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience.

Founded in 1991, Bungie has created games for play on rival PlayStation and Xbox consoles and Microsoft Windows-powered computers.

According to Sony, Bungie will remain an independent studio that would make games for play on competing devices.

Bungie is focusing on Destiny, an online first-person shooter franchise shared online with other players.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter sees Sony's acquisition of Bungie as a response to Microsoft's move.

Pachter noted that Sony has few games that monetize after the initial sale, and Bungie is good at live operations.