Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed this week that it would be spending $3.6 billion to acquire Bungie, the developer behind the immensely popular Destiny and Halo series. A slide from Sony’s Q3 2021 earnings report has now revealed that a significant portion of those funds have been reserved as part of a retention incentive plan to ensure that the studio’s talented developers remain at the company and aren’t tempted to retreat elsewhere. The amount, which constitutes $1.2 billion, will be paid out over several years.
Sony offers Bungie employees $1.2 billion retention incentive plan (TweakTown)
- Sony says it is prepared to pay 1/3rd of its $3.6 billion buyout proposal, or roughly $1.2 billion, on a long-term incentive plan that will reward Bungie employees who stay with the company.
- Sony will pay the remainder $2.4 billion for a direct buyout of Bungie’s private shares. The bonus is aimed at keeping Bungie’s current staff intact after the acquisition.
- Deferred payments are planned across multiple years following the buyout closure. The company is prepared to pay about $792 million in deferred incentive payments in the first two years after the deal ends.
Sony Is Spending 1.2 Billion To Keep Destiny 2 Devs From Leaving (Kotaku)
- Sony is paying for the people as much as for Destiny 2.
- To put that number in perspective, Sony paid $229 million for Spider-Man maker Insomniac Games as recently as 2019.
- While Bungie has more than double the number of employees, at 900 people $1.2 billion still comes out to over $1 million per developer, though obviously some folks at Bungie will get much more while others will get much less.