San Francisco (AFP) – PlayStation maker Sony on Monday announced a $3.6 billion deal to buy US video game studio Bungie, creator of hits like “Halo” and “Destiny”, as a gaming industry battle heats up against Microsoft. Sony’s deal to buy Bungie comes on the heels of Microsoft announcing a landmark $69 billion agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard, boosting its power in video games by scooping up the scandal-hit “Call of Duty” maker. “This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience,” Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Jim Ryan said of …