Extensive post on reddit about this. (Destiny)

by INSANEdrive, ಥ_ಥ | f(ಠ‿↼)z | ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ| ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, Thursday, February 03, 2022, 10:47 (806 days ago) @ Avateur

Link to full post here.

...And because for some reason if feel I should... here is the whole quoted post (sans any quote formatting) below the dashed lines. Again, I didn't make this (not long enough ;P). I'm simply the messenger.

Since we can here, I've also embedded the mentioned CoolGuy Video here as well.

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So...it just so happens CoolGuy JUST posted a video going over these EXACT realizations 50 minutes ago. I was waiting to post mine after the megathread had ended, but oh well. Just let it be known I'm not copying him, lol.

So here's my own summarized findings as well, but me and Coolguy basically come to the same conclusion. Sony's in it for the Bungie tech, and Bungie's in it for the multimedia potential. It's a win-win on both sides. Now, here's my original post.
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First things first, the sources for this are just words on paper. Unless it was explicitly written into the contract itself and made a legal stipulation, Sony could adjust this deal at any time. They do own Bungie. So if you've already made up your mind and firmly believe Sony will just faithlessly steamroll over Bungie, then move on. This post isn't for you. No one can tell what the future holds.

But just remember, in order to get Bungie to sign at that very time, they had to agree Bungie will retain entire and exclusive creative and distributive control for their games and studio. That's a fact.

Now, onto the meat itself.

As described by the lawyer in his 40 minute legal dissection, this is a "one of a kind deal" and "PlayStation's riskiest bet yet". This video analysis can be viewed at your own leisure (and I highly recommend it!), but a synapsis will be provided below.

A TL;DR will also be provided...
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The essence of the video is that Sony is betting big, and letting Bungie hold the reigns. The video is split into three parts. He first breaks down the official press release, which by law, both parties agreed upon. This is the news that investors receive so that they know why their company has made certain decisions.

You can read this press release here.

He then goes into detail on Bungie's official blog release (the one we saw) and then their FAQ (the one that everyone's been dissecting). He makes no note of any "shady wording" within the FAQ, because it is the press release that holds all the weight.

The story here is that Sony is taking a huge bet by completely surrendering all creative control to Bungie. As a lawyer with over 600 episodes of legal dissection, "I don't know if I've ever seen a purchase that says, after we're done buying you, you get to operate independently and maintain your own, unilateral ability, to self-publish your content and decide what markets you are selling into." Now of course, at the end of the day (assuming there isn't a contract problem with this) Sony could change how things operate, but in order to get Bungie to sign on the dotted line, Sony had to promise them full and final creative authority around how they operate.

This is a giant bet for Sony. Sony is betting, hoping, and trusting that Bungie will continue the franchise in a positive direction, and in exchange, they get the profits, and they get Bungie's knowledge and expertise when they need it...for whatever Sony may want.

To reiterate, Bungie had the leverage to make Sony surrender all creative, distributive, and publishing rights, so they are completely independent in all things that happen inside and outside the game. Sony can suggest things. They can listen in on the boardroom meetings. But at the end of the day, Bungie gets the final say.

• So what is Sony actually buying, as it stands now, for that $3.4 Billion?

"Access to their industry knowhow and control of the profit distribution and revenue streams. And that's it."

• Why does Sony want access to Bungie?

"For their world-class approach to the live game services and technological expertise."

• And what does Sony have that made Bungie want to sell to them in return?

"The Sony Group’s diverse array of entertainment and technology assets to support further evolution of Bungie and its ability to create iconic worlds across multiple platforms and media."
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Alright so boiled down, what's really going on here?

Sony is trying to build their company portfolio. They're trying to build up their options. They want the networking power of this industry-leading games-as-a-service champion, Bungie. After all, extremely few games have been able to pull this model off well (remember all the “Destiny Killers”?), and as a bonus, this sci-go universe is ripe for multimedia expansion. Because of these two reasons, Sony reached out to Bungie.

To repeat, Sony is interested in Bungie. They don't want "Destiny" per say, they want Bungie. They want their industry knowledge, technical knowhow, and they see their new IPs as booming market opportunities. They want them as they build a competitive answer to Microsoft’s Gamepass (as part of the product, or as a consultant in the technical development), and they want to get to the full paycheck of Destiny: The Movie when it finally comes out. Part of the $3.4 Billion was explicitly spent just on employee incentives to ensure that all of the talent at Bungie stays at Bungie. They want the studio's creative power, and they don't want to mess with it.

Bungie, meanwhile, agreed to sell to Sony likely in part due to their access to multimedia resources. Bungie saw Spiderverse. They saw Uncharted. Sony told them "We can get you Tom Holland, we can get you Mark Wahlberg, we can get you these big production capabilities to expand Destiny into a entire, true, global multi-media franchise." And this caught Bungie’s eye. They want to be the next Marvel, so to speak. And hell, if that’s true, the money Sony could make from this would pale in comparison to anything done to Destiny 2 itself.

BUT, Bungie only signed if Sony promised they could keep full control over what they do inside their studios and where that stuff goes. Bungie decides what goes into the game. Bungie decides who has access to it. Bungie decides what game they make next. Period. They could make a British Cooking simulator and exclusively sell it to Xbox, and Sony wouldn't be able to stop them (although don't expect their current deal to stay intact if they do).

The lawyer, a former player of Destiny himself, states that although he hopes Bungie re-evaluates their decision on content vaulting with this new partnership, even Sony themselves wouldn't be able to influence such decision. That's the power Bungie has right now. Sony is invested in the company, not the game.

Now, here’s the catch. As we know it now, and also given Bungie’s past relationships, this kind of stipulation will almost certainly cause friction in the future. After all, this is a very rare deal to be made. We don't know if Bungie got it written in as a legal agreement (in which, if push comes to shove, Bungie would have to buy themselves free again), or Sony just offered it as a gesture of goodwill (and say, 3 years from now, things are re-evaluated). This is the one thing we don’t know. But given the immense layering and detailed language of full body independence within their press release, which again, both parties need to mutually agree upon before publishing, it’s very unlikely for this to change soon (if at all, or at least until sometime like 2024).

So as it stands now, exclusives are entirely off the table unless Bungie themself solely decides they want to add them. Bungie, and Bungie alone, decides what Destiny is. Sony, meanwhile, is taking a massive bet by surrendering the reigns to Bungie, and they're saying "Alright, as long as you guys pick up the phone when we need it, and you give us your paychecks, you do you." That is the status quo. And so far, it seems to be in a win-win spot for both companies. The likelihood of this situation changing depends on how much faith you have in Sony as a company.
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TL;DR

Sony just wants Bungie's money, tech, and expertise. Bungie just wants to continue their game while gaining access to TV shows and movies. Both companies came to a rare, but genuine, mutual agreement to leave Destiny and any future IPs solely and exclusively within Bungie's entire top to bottom control. That means Sony has zero influence over what happens in the game.

Yes, Sony could technically alter this deal in the future, but given how explicitly clear Bungie was about stating their independence (to the point of almost needless and deliberate repetition within their legal document, by the lawyer’s own opinion), it doesn't seem likely. This could have be written in the contract, after all. Or maybe it’s just a gesture of goodwill. Time will tell.

But I don't know about you, I'm just going to save my popcorn for when they announce production of “Destiny: The Movie” instead. Staring Lance Reddick.