Sony (SONY) stock was up on Friday after the entertainment company revealed changes at one of its game development studios. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has stepped down as leader and will depart the company. This comes after the studio’s latest game, Marathon, was delayed indefinitely, despite a planned release in September 2025.
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The departure of Parsons marks the end of an era for Bungie, in more ways than one. Parsons has been a longtime leader of the video game development studio, having served as its CEO since 2016, and acting as its Chief Operating Officer before that. He helped shape the company into what it is today, but that might not be enough for it to survive the current state of the video game market.
Marathon, a revival of one of Bungie’s oldest video game series, was delayed following extremely negative backlash from gamers. Reception to a public test was negative, and the switch to a cyberpunk aesthetic over the military sci-fi settings of previous games wasn’t well received either. This has fueled speculation that Bungie will lose its status as an independent developer and be folded into Sony’s PlayStation Studios. This would be a sad fate for the developer behind Microsoft’s (MSFT) original Halo trilogy.
SONY Stock Movement Today
Sony stock was up 3.73% on Friday, extending a 35.44% rally year-to-date and a 49.53% increase over the past 12 months. While PlayStation is a large part of Sony’s business, it isn’t the company’s only avenue for entertainment revenue. The company also produces movies, music, and other entertainment.
Is Sony Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Sony is Moderate Buy, based on two Buy ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average SONY stock price target of $30.50, representing a potential 6.53% upside for the shares.
