Sony has announced that it is acquiring Bungie, the creators of Halo and Destiny, for $3.6 billion. The announcement comes shortly after Microsoft revealed plans to purchase Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that once the deal closes, Bungie will become “an independent subsidiary” of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and run by a board of directors comprised of the studio’s management team, as well as current CEO and chairman Pete Parsons. Bungie will also be free to “self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play” following the acquisition.

“We’ve had a strong partnership with Bungie since the inception of the Destiny franchise, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome the studio to the PlayStation family,” said Jim Ryan, SIE President and CEO.

“This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience. We understand how vital Bungie’s community is to the studio and look forward to supporting them as they remain independent and continue to grow. Like Bungie, our community is core to PlayStation’s DNA, and our shared passion for the gamer and building the best place to play will now evolve even further.”

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Ryan also assured fans that Bungie will continue to publish across multiple platforms.

“First off, I want to be very clear to the community that Bungie will remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher.” Ryan said. “As such, we believe it makes sense for it to sit alongside the PlayStation Studios organization, and we are incredibly excited about the opportunities for synergies and collaboration between these two world-class groups.”

A blog post on Bungie.net provides curious and concerned fans with an FAQ, which primarily tackles the subject of exclusivity as well as how this affects the studio’s future plans. In short, the acquisition will not impact Destiny 2’s content plans, which is currently set to conclude with ‘The Final Shape’ in 2024.

“Q. Will any announced seasons, events, packs, or expansions be changed or impacted by Bungie becoming part of PlayStation? ​

No. Bungie retains full creative independence for our games and our community. Our plans for the Light and Dark Saga are unchanged, all the way through The Final Shape in 2024.”

The developer also confirmed that Destiny’s companion app, cross-save and cross-play services will be unaffected.

“Q. Will cross platform features, like Cross Save, Cross Play, the Destiny 2 Companion App, or third-party apps like Destiny Item Manager (DIM) be changed or removed?

No. Bungie’s commitment to cross-platform play and social features remains unchanged. We believe games are best shared with friends, wherever they choose to play, and will continue to invest in new features and platforms.”

With a new IP currently in development, discussions surrounding potential exclusivity of future titles was also brought up. Somewhat surprisingly, Bungie revealed that future releases will not be PlayStation exclusives.

“Q. Bungie has future games in development, will they now become PlayStation exclusives?

No. We want the worlds we are creating to extend to anywhere people play games. We will continue to be self-published, creatively independent, and we will continue to drive one, unified Bungie community.”

Originally set to release in 2021, Destiny 2’s next expansion, The Witch Queen, releases on February 22nd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC and Stadia.