Here are the biggest gaming industry purchases — so far
As the video game industry has grown, more and more publishers have joined the space hoping to find success. Under the perpetual cycle of capitalism, some of these companies get bought out by others. However, with so many acquisitions occurring these days, you might be wondering just how many there have been, and how big and expensive these purchases have gotten.
After these purchases happen, industry veterans sometimes strike out and found new teams, starting the cycle all over again. While the gaming industry is in the midst of a consolidation phase, there’s still a lot of competition happening. No matter how it all unfolds, teams will keep working on some of the best games available.
1. Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard – $68.7 billion
Source: Microsoft
The deal is currently expected to close no later than June 2023.
2. Take-Two Interactive buying Zynga – $12.7 billion
Source: Zynga
3. Tencent gains majority in Supercell – $8.6 billlion
Source: Supercell
While Tencent already had numerous investments in gaming, including majority stakes in multiple companies, gaining a majority in Supercell solidified Tencent’s presence in mobile gaming, while also supplying a steady stream of additional gaming revenue.
4. Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media – $8.1 billion
Source: Microsoft
The acquisition finalized on March 9, 2021, adding Bethesda Game Studios, Arkane Studios, id Software, and more to the Xbox first-party lineup, including day one launches for titles like Starfield on Xbox Game Pass. Additional payments raised the total value of the deal to $8.1 billion by its conclusion.
5. Activision Blizzard buys King – $5.9 billion
Source: King
6. ByteDance acquires Moonton – $4 billion
Source: Moonton
7. Sony buys Bungie – $3.6 billion
Source: PlayStation
Bungie worked on earlier titles in the Halo franchise and is currently maintaining Destiny 2. With this deal, Sony will now gain expertise from the hundreds of developers at Bungie on how to work on live service games, expanding its efforts in multiplayer gaming.
8. Microsoft acquires Mojang – $2.5 billion
Source: Xbox Game Studios
9. Electronic Arts buys Glu Mobile – $2.4 billion
Source: Electronic Arts
10. Facebook buys Oculus – $2 billion
Source: Nick Sutrich | Windows Central
Meta is also using its VR talent to explore building the Metaverse, with a focus on virtual, remote workplace interactions, though a lot of these ideas remain in the conceptual phase.
Round and round we go
More and more companies are being bought constantly, and we won’t be surprised to see this list change as time goes on. The video game industry is one of the fastest-growing entertainment sectors in the world, which isn’t going to change. More success means more money, which means new studios being founded as well. Consolidation is happening, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be more growth.
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