The video game market is consolidating like never before, and EA isn’t averse to getting in on the act either. According to Pack, the publisher of Battlefield and FIFA, was recently considering a merger with NBCUniversal and was also in talks to potentially sell the business to Disney, Apple, Amazon and others. While there is no deal yet, everything points to EA’s desire to be part of a much larger organization.
The reason for this interest is that today many giants are interested in the gaming market and do not mind buying publishers or a set of studios, offering huge money for this. Especially against the backdrop of Microsoft’s deal with Activision. But in the case of EA, the main desire is not to sell the company, which will lead to a change in leadership, but to merge, which will allow the current top management to remain in charge, while receiving millions in bonuses.
EA itself declined to comment on the rumors, but a spokesperson said the company is proud of its position of strength and growth, as well as its portfolio of popular franchises, which unite up to 500 million gamers around the world.
There have been several major sales and purchases over the past couple of years. Microsoft bought ZeniMax, which includes Bethesda, and also began the process of buying Activision Blizzard. Take-Two announced the purchase of Zynga. Sony has bought several studios, including Bungie. EA also spent about $5 billion last year buying studios and expanding.
This news sounds interesting against the backdrop of the fact that EA has lost the exclusive rights to the Star Wars license, and this year the FIFA license has ended.
