Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it will acquire video game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion.

Bungie is known for developing shooter games like ‘Destiny’ and ‘Halo’, the latter for which it worked until 2010.

Earlier, Bungie was acquired by Microsoft in 2000 and split in 2007.

While smaller than both Take-Two Interactive’s $12.7 billion deal for Zynga and Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition, Sony agreed to buy the company with Halo which helped launch Microsoft’s first Xbox in 2001.

All three video game deals were announced in January, UNI reported.

Technology companies are increasingly interested in gaming as they look to expand audiences and prepare for future iterations of virtual- and augmented-reality devices.

Bungie will continue to operate independently within Sony, the company said.

The video game developer’s most recent hit is Destiny 2, which will continue to be offered on multiple platforms.

The Halo franchise has been developed by Microsoft’s 343 Industries since 2011. Its latest game, Halo Infinite, launched on Xbox and Windows in 2021.

Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony Group Corp.’s chairman, president and CEO said, “Bungie has created and continues to evolve some of the world’s most beloved video game franchises and, by aligning its values with people’s desire to share gameplay experiences, they bring together millions of people around the world.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment, which develops PlayStation and is based in San Mateo, Calif., is a subsidiary of Sony Group Corp.