PARIS: The biggest players in the video gaming sector – worth US$197bil (RM805.32bil) in revenue in 2025, according to data firm Newzoo – are joining forces, with an influx of Saudi money weighing on investment decisions.
Here are some of the biggest recent deals after the finalisation on August 4 of the purchase of US publisher and Sims and EA maker Electronic Arts:
Electronic Arts
American video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), having said in September 2025 it was being bought by a group of investment funds, on August 4 confirmed an agreement with partners including Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF and private firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners – the company of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
An industry heavyweight since the pioneering 1980s, EA's stable of titles includes sports juggernauts like EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), the Battlefield first-person shooter series, and home life simulator The Sims.
Valuing EA at around US$55bil (RM224.82bil), the deal marks its delisting from Wall Street after 37 years on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the PIF will henceforth hold more than 93% of EA.
Scopely
The PIF also snapped up US-based mobile games specialist Scopely in April 2023, for US$4.9bil (RM20.03bil).
Released the same year, Scopely's flagship title, Monopoly Go, has generated more than US$6bil (RM24.52bil) in revenue since its launch.
In March 2025, Scopely bought up Niantic, creator of titles including the popular Pokémon Go, for US$3.5bil (RM14.31bil).
Activision Blizzard
American software giant Microsoft announced a US$69bil (RM282.04bil) purchase of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush publisher Activision Blizzard in January 2022.
British and US regulators were initially reluctant, but the transaction got the go-ahead in October 2023.
It was the largest acquisition in gaming history, turning Xbox console maker Microsoft into the third-largest games industry player by revenue behind China's Tencent and PlayStation maker Sony.
Following the buyout, Microsoft has carried out several rounds of redundancies, the most recent of which, announced in early July, involves the loss of 1,600 jobs within its gaming division.
Zynga
In early 2022, American firm Take-Two bought mobile game developer "Zynga" for US$12.7bil (RM51.91bil), along with its stable of popular titles like FarmVille.
The deal offered a new beachhead in mobile for Take-Two – already the owner of massive franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and the NBA 2K basketball series.
Zenimax
Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media for US$7.5bil (RM30.66bil) in 2021.
ZeniMax's main subsidiary Bethesda Softworks owns the beloved Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series – with the second selling 65 million copies of its fifth instalment, Skyrim.
In 2023, the publisher released the new title Starfield, keeping the space-faring adventure off consoles other than Microsoft's Xbox.
Bethesda is also the publisher of the ultra-violent shooter series Doom and the stealthier Dishonored. – AFP
