The gaming industry is going through a lot of consolidation. Towards the beginning of January, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Activision Blizzard for around $70 billion. Then, this week, Sony said that it was buying Bungie for roughly $4 billion. According to industry insiders like VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb and The Game Awards' Geoff Keighley, more big gaming deals are on the way.
Some major gaming publishers are listed below with their market values. Any acquisition would have to be much higher, possibly around 45% above the current market value. And even then, it's not guaranteed.
- EA: $37 billion
- Take-Two Interactive: $25 billion with Zynga
- Bandai Namco: $15 billion
- Embracer: $15 billion
- Ubisoft: $7 billion
- Konami: $6 billion
- Square Enix: $6 billion
- Capcom: $5 billion
- Sega: $4 billion
According to a report by TweakTown, Sony has around $10 billion left for acquisitions — and other buyouts — until March 2024. The company isn't all about PlayStation though, and recently announced that it's serious about making electric cars. While the board can approve a larger purchase, possibly taking another loan or giving stock options, it's unlikely given the roughly $2 trillion debt the company has. Companies like Microsoft only have around $58 billion in debt. It's more likely that Sony will stick to smaller studios.
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the gaming industry in 2022 and 2023. Maybe EA will make a move and acquire another publisher. It's definitely expressed interest in a recent statement.
Which team do you think will be acquired next? Will these companies focus on smaller studios? Let us know in the comments below.
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