Dead On
Chinese outfit GAEA snaps up 20% stake in Fallout Shelter dev Behaviour Interactive
The pair are currently co-developing a Game of Thrones game for mobile
Building Blox
Roblox acquires app performance start-up PacketZoom to boost output on mobile
PacketZoom Co-founder and CTO Chetan Ahuja will join Roblox at part of the deal
Perfecto
Perforce snaps up Cloud-based software developer Perfecto Mobile
The acquisition is expected to close this year
Acquisitions With Friends?
Report: Zynga attracts takeover interest
Developer has received preliminary approaches but no formal talks have taken place, sources claim
Ar
Truly Social Games acquires Vancouver AR studio Cooper’s New Reality Garage
Augmented reality specialist will rebrand as Truly Social Games Vancouver
Service
Epic Games acquires security and service provider Kamu
Kamu brings its speciality in game security and community building to Fortnite and Unreal developers
Big Deal
Advantage Solutions acquires HyprMX owner Jun Group in deal that brings brands and mobile games closer together
HyprMX general manager and senior vice president Dan Laughlin tells us what the deal means for the company and the mobile games industry at large
Fishing
Digital marketing outfit Jellyfish knuckles down on app space with ASO Co purchase
Among ASO Co’s clientele are Spotify, eBay and Twitter
Invested
Tencent invests $318 million in Chinese video-sharing company Bilibili
Publisher acquires 12.3 per cent of shares in a company that dabbles in running League of Legends and Overwatch esports teams
Acquisition News
Animoca Brands picks up majority stake in AI accelerator Zeroth for $1m
Publisher underwrites $2m worth of investment into Zeroth SPC
Stellar
Hugo Games picks up Dawn of the Dragons dev 5th Planet for $737,000
An extra $160,000 will go towards funding a sequel to the studio's Dawn of the Dragons sequel.
Nostalgic Deal
Liquid Media snaps up 65 retro game IPs from Throwback for $1 million
Titles include All Star Baseball, NFL Quarterback Club, NHL Breakaway and College Slam
Acquisition News
Chinese tutoring services provider snaps up chidren's apps developer Dr. Panda
Companies to work on "new models for future education"
Road To Investments
Scopely swoops for Glu’s Rob Ricca to lead M&A activity
Rob Ricca previously led M&A at Glu Mobile, during which time it purchased Crowdstaf and Plain Vanilla
M&a
Stillfront acquires Imperia Online in deal worth up to $32 million
Initial deal worth $11.7m but could rise based on performance
Surprise!
Keywords acquires The Trailer Farm and Sound Lab
Firm made $128.6m for the six months ending June 30th
Acquisition News
UK publisher PlayStack acquires Finnish developer Hisome
Studio renamed PlayStack Oy and will be responsible for development and finding new partners
Bought
AppLovin acquires in-app header bidding company MAX Inc
Discoverability platform expands services to include the new header bidding solution
East Meets West
South Korean publisher Pearl Abyss acquires Eve Online studio CCP for $425 million
Icelandic studio claims it will maintain independence while supporting Pearl Abyss' current and future projects
Super Purchase
Nielsen snaps up market research outfit SuperData
No figure put on the deal
Building A Blockchain Strategy
Animoca Brands acquires The Sandbox dev Pixowl for $5 million
Betting on blockchain user generated content
Acquisition
Game of Whales acquires tracking app Appstatics
AI-powered tool acquires tracking app on its way to becoming a fully automated management platform
Takeover
FoxNext among assets purchased in Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox
Games division one of the “key assets” acquired by the big mouse
Ticket To Buy
PAI Partners in talks to buy Catan maker Asmodee for $1.4 billion
Company set for international expansion if sale goes through
Machine Learning
Keywords snaps up predictive analytics outfit Yokozuna Data from Silicon Studio in $1.5m deal
Draws on AI and machine learning tech
Snowed Under
Keywords snaps up Canada's Snowed In Studios
Part of the services giant's new engineering line
All Aboard
Chinese publisher NetEase picks up minority stake in UK studio Jumpship
Developer plans to double team of six over the next year
Big Deal
China’s iQIYI acquires developer Skymoons in deal worth up to $300 million
Online video platform hopes to utilise IP across mediums
Victory
Investment company Victory Square snaps up venture fund V2 Games
Pacific Rim: Breach Wars soft-launched in the US back in April
Seismic Acquisition
Pokemon Go dev Niantic acquires Marvel Strike Force developer Seismic Games
Studio to craft new augmented reality experiences
Invested
Equity firm KKR & Co purchases $400m minority stake in mobile marketing platform Applovin
Deal increases the marketing platform’s value to $2 billion
First Strike
Tropico dev Kalypso acquires classic Commandos IP
Plans to develop new games in the franchise, remaster old titles for new hardware
Chat Up
Warner Bros. acquires mobile games communication platform Plexchat
"Advancing the social aspect of our mobile games is a top priority for us"
Toying Around
EA snags Industrial Toys
The mobile development studio is headed up by former Bungie CEO Alex Seropian
Handy Deal
THQ Nordic picks up German developer HandyGames
Giebelstadt-based studio to act as international publisher for small to mid-sized projects and devs
Quizzed
Indian publisher Nazara acquires minority stake in quiz studio Crimzoncode
Partnership will see Nazara publish the studio’s flagship quiz title in emerging markets
Acquisition
Pokemon Go developer Niantic acquires London-based machine learning outfit Matrix Mill
AI research outfit join the augmented reality giant
Winner
Report: PUBG developer Bluehole snaps up mobile studio Delusion Studio
The terms of the deal are currently unknown
Winner Winner
Report: Tencent set to acquire 10% of PUBG developer Bluehole for $500 million
Sale is not intended to raise capital for Bluehole but instead is a chance for early investors to cash out
Eyes On Korea
Why Seasun and other Chinese developers are expanding their influence over South Korea's mobile market
Seasun Games overseas business development director Zhen Li tells us why Chinese games are so popular in South Korea
Be Careful What You Wish For
The madness and method of Supercell’s M&A philosophy
A double-edged sword
Talent Scout
Keywords Studios acquires the Hollywood talent outfit Blindlight
Sunset strip studio specialises in getting game publishers in touch with Hollywood creatives
M&a Warchest
Keywords gets access to more than $120 million to fund further acquisitions
Services provider has bought four companies in 2018 so far
Microhub
Microsoft acquires GitHub for $7.5 billion
Announcement could be made as early as Monday, June 4th
Destined To Be Partners
Destiny developer Bungie could be set for mobile push following $100m investment from NetEase
US studio could be set to explore the mobile games market
Smokin
Keywords Studios purchases Fire Without Smoke for $6.9 million
Creative and marketing services company joins Keywords’ expanding roster of assets
The Magic Number
Frank Gibeau on why Zynga’s $250 million acquisition of Gram Games adds up
Riding Merge Dragons! to success
It's Pickle Pixel
Adult Swim buys London-based Pocket Mortys developer Big Pixel Studios
Network plans to increase investment in the games space
Whoot!
Alien Path publisher iCandy buys Indonesian Hollywhoot developer Joyseed
Deal worth up to $263,000
Acquisition News
Dutch firm OrangeGames acquires majority stake in Habbo Hotel dev Sulake
Former owner Elisa retains minority stake