Tag Archives: acquisition

While the legalities surrounding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues to be figured out, the console manufacturer has not been keeping its eggs in one singular basket, with Microsoft reportedly looking to the East for potential studio acquisitions. As part of the latest episode of the Giant Bombcast podcast, industry …

Back in March, we learned that NetEase was looking to fully acquire Quantic Dream, following several years of being a minority stake holder. Now, that deal has been confirmed, with the Chinese games publisher now acquiring the former Sony partner.  Quantic Dream made a name for itself with a series …

From Software has had an incredible run over the last decade, finding great success with the Dark Souls games, Bloodborne, and most recently, Elden Ring. From Software is already backed by Japanese media conglomerate, Kadokawa. but new investors are now being brought on board, including Sony and Tencent.  Sony and …

Last week, Unity received a surprise acquisition offer, with mobile-focused company, AppLovin, offering $17.5 billion. There's just one problem, the merger would mean that Unity would have to cancel its previously announced deal to acquire IronSource. After talking it over, Unity has decided to go ahead with its original plans. …

Just over a week ago, we learned the official opinions of Sony, Ubisoft, WB, Riot and other companies regarding Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Sony naturally had a lot to say and was particularly concerned with Microsoft's growing hold on the subscription market with Game Pass. Now, Microsoft has had a chance to respond, calling Sony for buying 'blocking rights' to keep certain games off of Xbox. 

Unity could potentially have new ownership soon. Mobile-focused company, AppLovin has proposed a buyout of Unity in a deal worth $17.5 billion.  AppLovin made the offer this week, presenting an all-stock deal currently worth just over $17.5 billion. Unity is now evaluating the offer, but the situation is a little …

EA has made a number of big acquisitions in recent years, adding Respawn Entertainment, Codemasters and most recently, Playdemic. Still, that didn't stop EA's name from being mentioned in buyout rumours earlier this year. This week during EA's quarterly earnings call, CEO, Andrew Wilson, addressed the elephant in the room.  …

We're over six months on from Microsoft announcing plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, kicking off the lengthy process of gaining approvals from anti-trust organisations across the world. Most of the time, these investigations are highly secretive, but we do know that they involve seeking opinions from competing companies across the industry. Now thanks to recent filings in Brazil, documents containing these opinions have been posted online, giving us insight into what the likes of Sony, Ubisoft, WB and others think of the deal. 

After seemingly joking about it earlier this year, Elon Musk made a bid to acquire Twitter in April 2022, offering $43 billion for control of the company. Shortly after, Musk put the deal ‘on hold' while awaiting accurate information on the number of spam bot accounts on the platform. Now, …

The 2020s seems to be the decade of acquisitions – at least so far – with publishers, holding companies and console manufacturers alike all partaking in this most recent acquisition spree. Joining the fray is Nordisk Games, an equity investor who after purchasing a minority stake in Supermassive Games has …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a deal worth a record-breaking $69 billion. However, the deal is far from done, as Microsoft faces regulatory challenges. This week, another hurdle was placed in the way, as the UK's Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) announced plans to …

The games industry is going through a massive shake up at the moment, with studios changing hands left and right. One name we haven't heard much during acquisition talks is EA, but as it turns out, EA has been seeking a buyer for some time and has already held active …

Back in January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard as part of the largest merger in video games history. It has been a while since we last had an update on the process, but according to Microsoft's President and Vice Chair, things are moving relatively quickly.  Currently, Microsoft plans …

Any major acquisition over a certain value faces regulatory scrutiny, although recent changes at the FTC have empowered the commission over fears that big tech corporations are getting too powerful. Just as Microsoft is facing an in-depth investigation over its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony is also facing an …

 Just one week ago, reports claimed that Ubisoft was in the process of cleaning up its business in an effort to sell to new ownership. As it turns out, things aren't that simple. According to updated information, the Guillemot family wants to maintain control over Ubisoft, and they may partner …

Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, has come under fire over the last year, with thousands of employees campaigning to oust him from the company. Instead of stepping down, Kotick decided to negotiate a lifeline deal from Microsoft, something that New York City politicians aren't too happy about.  In a new …

While Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed to a merger, there are a number of hurdles still left to clear before the acquisition can happen. Aside from regulators, the deal also needs to be approved by Activision Blizzard shareholders. Due to the company's current stock price sitting far below Microsoft's …

Just as reported yesterday afternoon, Elon Musk is indeed buying Twitter. The company officially accepted the buyout offer last night, with plans to complete the deal before the end of the year.  Thanks to the announcement, we can also clear up confusion on how much the deal is worth. Previously, …

Elon Musk has always had a huge presence on Twitter, to the point where even if you don’t follow him, you’ve likely seen him pop up in your feed. Now, Musk is making a bid to buy Twitter outright, and despite early reports, it seems the company will accept the offer.//

A few years ago, Ubisoft was under threat of hostile takeover, as Vivendi began buying up shares in the company. At the time, Ubisoft fought back to maintain its independence, but after a string of major project delays and work culture controversy, it looks like Ubisoft may finally be ready …

We have recently seen all manner of video game publishers partaking in what appears to be an acquisition spree. One of the most active participants is Microsoft, Acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68 Billion last year. Despite the surprise announcement, talks between the two actually stretch as far back as the …

In the past few years, we have seen the video games industry consolidated into fewer but larger publishers, with holding companies growing faster than ever as all manner of developers and publishers scramble to acquire as many studios as is legally possible. Embracer Group is one such company, and according …

The public perception of French studio Quantic Dream has ebbed and flowed over the years, with current sentiment being far from the heights that the studio enjoyed following the release of 2010’s Heavy Rain. Still, the company’s upcoming Star Wars game has seemingly proven to be an enticing factor for …

Recently, Nvidia's deal to acquire Arm fell through due to on-going regulatory issues. One of the key issues with the deal was the idea of a single chip-making company owning Arm. To get around this, a consortium with multiple investors could be formed to acquire Arm instead, and SK Hynix seems keen on getting something like that rolling. 

After launching Netflix Games in 2021, the streaming giant has been on the lookout for game development studios to help bolster its game offerings. Recently, Netflix has acquired Night School Studio (Oxenfree), Next Games (Stranger Things, The Walking Dead) and now, Boss Fight Entertainment is being added to that list.  …

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was already complicated. Not only is it the largest merger in gaming history, but the latter company is also dealing with a number of lawsuits. Now, another legal battle has been added to the pile, with the US Justice Department investigating potential insider trading connected …

Nvidia's plans to buy ARM may not have gone well, but that doesn't mean there aren't other companies worth acquiring. With the ARM deal now dead, Nvidia has turned its attention to other acquisitions, starting with Excelero, an HPC storage specialist company based in Tel-Aviv. With the acquisition of Excelero, Nvidia …

Netflix is continuing its push into the video game market. Recently, Netflix officially launched ‘Netflix Games' as part of the streaming service and since then, the company has been shopping around for independent studios to develop games for the platform. Previously, Netflix acquired Oxenfree developer, Night School Studio. Now, Netflix …

In January, Microsoft shocked the gaming industry with the announcement of its agreement to acquire Activision Blizzard. Despite on-going troubles at the publisher, the idea of Kotick selling the company still seemed inconceivable. As time goes on though, we are learning more about the timeline of this deal and what …

In the wake of Microsoft’s massive $68.7 Billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, it seems all companies, whether developers or publishers, are considering and reflecting upon their own potential to be acquired. The latest company to announce their willingness to be acquired is Ubisoft. As reported by Senior industry analyst Daniel …