The US$3.6 billion transaction is the latest megadeal in an industry where major players like Microsoft are racing to snap up popular titles and talent.

Bungie, based in the state of Washington, employs more than 900 people.

It created the “Halo” franchise, which was later acquired by Microsoft and is not part of the Sony deal.

Bungie has worked with Sony in the past to bring content to the latter’s PlayStation game systems.

“We will utilise the Sony Group’s diverse array of entertainment and technology assets to support further evolution of Bungie,” Sony chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in a news release.

It appears that Sony will consider the use of intellectual property in areas outside gaming.

“Like us, Sony believes that game worlds are only the beginning of what our IPs can become,” Bungie CEO Pete Parsons said in the release.

The business has seen a recent flurry of high-profile acquisition deals. Microsoft announced in mid-January that it would purchase Activision Blizzard, whose properties include the popular “Call of Duty” first-person shooters and “Candy Crush” puzzle games, for US$68.7 billion, including the target’s net cash.

Take-Two Interactive, whose franchises include “Grand Theft Auto”, said earlier that month that it would acquire Zynga, known for mobile games like “FarmVille”, for an enterprise value of US$12.7 billion.

The growth of the video game market and structural shifts within it are encouraging such major deals.

The industry generated total revenue of roughly US$180 billion in 2021, according to Dutch research firm Newzoo – far more than movies at the box office and recorded music.

The number of gamers climbed to 3 billion, up from 2.2 billion five years ago.

Major players from outside the industry, including Amazon.com and Netflix, are expanding into this space.