2022 saw some of the biggest video game acquisitions in history take place. Studio consolidation has been a recent trend in gaming. Major studios are continuing to acquire other developers. Gamers are often wondering who will be next. The biggest studios continue to aim to acquire the best talent in the industry. If 2022 is any indication, there is no end in sight.
Microsoft, Sony, and Tencent are some of the biggest names that have acquired studios over the last couple of years. As new hardware releases, console makers aim to provide gamers with the best experiences possible. These acquisitions are all made to give consumers a reason to play on PlayStation or Xbox.
With all that in mind, Best Sports Betting Canada analysts have reviewed industry acquisitions. After doing the research and crunching the numbers, they compiled the ten largest acquisitions in the video game industry.
Microsoft’s Purchase of Activision Blizzard Is the Biggest Video Game Acquisition in History
In January 2022, Microsoft shocked the world. They announced their attempted purchase of Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion. This means that the studios best known for Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft would now be under the house of Xbox.
Should the deal go through, games like Call of Duty, Diablo, and Overwatch would come to Xbox Game Pass.
What’s remarkable is that Microsoft’s purchase of Activision is nearly five times as much as the next highest acquisition. Zynga purchased Take-Two for just under $13 billion. At the time, we all thought this was a lot of money. It held the title of largest video game acquisition in history for just a week. Then, eight days later, the Microsoft news broke.
Tencent has had a busy 2022. Along with Sony Interactive, they acquired 30% of FromSoftware. Additionally, they have increased their investment in Ubisoft. Yet these aren’t their biggest move in the industry. In 2016, Tencent acquired Supercell for $9 billion. Supercell is a mobile developer best known for Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Are Involved in Other Large Acquisitions
Before Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard, both companies were in the news for some of the most significant video game acquisitions. It was announced in 2020 that Microsoft was acquiring ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, for $8 billion. The irony at the time was that two Bethesda games, Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, were set to release exclusively on the PlayStation 5. Future Bethesda releases, such as Redfall, Starfield, and the next Elder Scrolls game, are Xbox and Steam exclusive titles.
Next up, Activision Blizzard decided to move into the mobile market in 2016. They purchased King, best known for Candy Crush Saga, for under $6 billion.
Long before that, in 2007, Activision moved to acquire Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard’s former parent company, Vivendi Games, merged with Activision. Vivendi Games was no more, and Activision Blizzard was formed.
Rounding Out the Rest of the Top Ten of the Biggest Video Game Acquisitions
Finally, we finish our top ten by moving into the gambling world.
In 2014, Gtech purchased International Game Technology for $4.7 billion in cash and $1.7 billion in assumed debt. IGT is the world’s largest slot machine manufacturer. In 2016, Playtika, best known for “social casino games,” was purchased by Shanghai Giant Network Technology. The deal is for $4.4 billion.
Next, we move from casino gaming to sports betting; Flutter Entertainment acquired FanDuelDuel. The deal took place in 2020 for $4.1 billion.
We wrap out our list of the biggest video game acquisitions in history with two more gaming acquisitions. First, Nuverse acquired Chinese mobile developer Moonton for around $4 billion in 2021. Nuverse was able to beat Tencent in the purchase.
Earlier in 2022, Sony purchased Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion. $1.2 billion of that is spent by Sony to keep Bungie developers at the company.
