I don’t think anybody could quite believe the price that Sony paid for Destiny 2 developer Bungie in 2022. The single studio cost Sony around $3.6 billion, with around a third of that number reportedly earmarked for retaining current staff. Bungie has since worked independently, although trouble with Marathon and Destiny 2 underperforming expectations could see the Japanese technology giant take a more hands-on approach in future. Sony’s CFO Lin Tao explained the underperformance in the company’s recent earnings call, saying that there is a ¥31.5 billion impairment loss against Bungie’s intangible assets.
Destiny 2 has long been a staple on our list of the best multiplayer games thanks to its great gunplay and exciting raids. However, with player counts declining in recent months, things aren’t looking great for Sony’s cash cow.
Tao explains that, “Regarding Destiny 2, partially due to changes in the competitive environment, the level of sales and user engagement have not reached the expectations we had at the time of the acquisition of Bungie, Inc.” A graph shown in the call also shows that, while sales and operating income are nearly ¥42 billion / ~$272 million / ~£207 million better off than at the same point last year, Sony has recorded ¥31.5 billion / ~$204 million / ~£155 million in impairment losses against Bungie’s intangible assets.
This means that Sony believes that Bungie’s value has decreased by this much. Intangible assets include patents, trademarks, and goodwill-the company’s brand and reputation. However, according to the report, Sony does believe that this impairment loss is a “non-recurring item,” and the operating income forecast for August is unchanged, despite Bungie’s loss and the impact of US tariffs.
During the Q&A portion of the call, transcribed by The Game Post, Tao clarified that goodwill was largely unaffected thanks to other games in Sony’s portfolio. “[As for] goodwill, that is supported by the whole game segment, so there will not be any impairment loss for goodwill,” she says. “For this time, [Destiny 2’s] game performance did not reach the expectations we had when we acquired Bungie.
“We still have some intangible assets, and the question of whether there is still any risk remaining or not, Marathon, which is going to be launched, and Destiny 2, if the performance [does not] reach what we expect, of course, there is a risk of impairment loss, but we don’t believe this will impact the whole game segment. At least at this point in time.”
