Hot Five
Hot Five: Jam City to sell Ludia, Scopely could acquire Pokémon Go, and Last War hits $2bn
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 43
NetEase scales back, Jam City agrees Ludia sale, and why Savvy wants Pokémon Go | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 43...
Big Deal
Niantic reportedly in talks to sell Pokémon Go and games business to Scopely for $3.5bn
The deal isn’t finalised, according to people familiar with the matter, but could be officially announced "in coming weeks"
M&a
MTG completes $620m acquisition of Raid: Shadow Legends developer Plarium
Deal could see a further $200m in earnouts
Delivering Deals
Report: Games industry M&As valued at $10.5 billion in 2024 with 21% volume increase
Drake Star’s Global Gaming Report 2024 highlighted the biggest investors of the year from venture capitalists to games studios
Investment News
Aonic invests $10m in Mega Fortuna as part of $70m acquisition plan
Mega Fortuna is best known for its flagship platform Richie Games
Hot Five
Hot Five: 2024’s top earners, the most downloaded mobile games, and Scopely’s Chengfeng Studio acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
M&a
DoubleU acquires Turkish studio Paxie Games for up to $67m
Social Casino firm picks up 60% stake for $27m
M&a
Scopely acquires Perfect World's Chengfeng Studio in $34.5m deal
Monopoly Go developer expands into China
M&a
Nazara subsidiary Nodwin acquires 93% stake in AFK gaming for $900,000
The acquisition makes AFK Gaming a fully-owned subsidiary of Nodwin Gaming
Hot Five
Hot Five: Animal Crossing’s comeback, Balatro’s big milestone, and Infinity Nikki’s record launch
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week That Was
Zynga sells Chartboost, Epic partners with Telefónica and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete hits $3M | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Sale Boost
Zynga sells Chartboost to LoopMe
Publisher had previously bought mobile ads and monetisation platform in a $250 million deal in 2021
Acqusitions
Build A Rocket Boy acquires UK developer PlayFusion
PlayFusion CEO and CTO Mark Gerhard will join company as co-CEO
Dream Deal
Playtika completes acquisition of Dice Dreams developer SuperPlay
The deal could be worth up to $1.95 billion, depending on SuperPlay’s performance in the next three years
Podcast | Episode 36
Games industry M&A hits overdrive with Plarium and Easybrain deals | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 36...
No-brainer?
Miniclip purchases Easybrain from Embracer for $1.2bn
Casual games developer moves on after it was purchased for $640 million back in 2021
Mobile M&a
Microsoft eyes potential mobile studio acquisition
"We’re not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles"
Ready To Raid
Modern Times Group acquires Raid: Shadow Legends maker Plarium for $620m
Plarium generated $613m in revenue during the 12 months ending September 30th, 2024
Sale Sorted
Take-Two sells Private Division and almost all its games
Take-Two will continue to support cross-platform RPG No Rest for the Wicked
Super Space Ape
Supercell establishes London studio with 100% acquisition of Space Ape
Clash of Clans developer aims to tap UK talent with full purchase Beatstar maker
Strategic Growth
Redwood acquires majority stake in Indian games streaming start-up Loco for $65m
The deal will see Loco expand to global markets
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon’s Palworld lawsuit, Playtika’s acquisition, and Ubisoft gets workers back to the office
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 29
Playtika acquires SuperPlay, and the secret multi-billion dollar games platform WeChat Minigames | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 29...
Week That Was
Playtika’s big acquisition of SuperPlay, EA’s all in on AI and Flappy Bird is back | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Super Acquisition
Playtika to acquire Dice Dreams developer SuperPlay for up to $1.95 billion
Deal will see publisher pay $700 million up-front and a further potential $1.25 billion based on successfully hitting financial targets
Investment News
Nazara invests $117 million PokerBaazi parent Moonshine
India games firm picks up 47.7% stake in the company
Portfolio Power Up
52 Entertainment welcomes "millions of new players" through Blackout acquisition
The casual games dev behind Word Search Quest and Bubble Shooter Rainbow joins 52 Entertainment’s portfolio
M&a
Pole to Win snaps up co-development studio Ghostpunch Games for $13 million
Florida-based company has worked across platforms with partners such as EA, Gearbox Software, Bethesda Game Studios and 2K
Aquisitions
Amber snaps up co-development studio Madbricks
Deal sees developer’s 40 staff join Amber’s global workforce of more than 850 employees
Ai Acquisition
GiantX acquires League of Legends AI coaching app maker iTero Gaming
The app, launched in late 2022, has been downloaded almost 250,000 times
Tech Takeover
Choices: Stories You Play dev Pixelberry Games acquired by AI-based Series Entertainment
The company's acquisition will see "cutting-edge technology" brought to the Choices: Stories You Play series
Billions Buyout
Keywords Studios sells for £2.1 billion in £24.50-per-share EQT buyout
The deal concludes the company's recent $145.8 million M&A strategy and it will now be acquired itself
Strategic Growth
Nazara eyes full acquisition of Kiddopia in $36m deal
The purchase could be finalised later this month
Acquisition Alliance
Nodwin Gaming to build an esports "alliance" through 100% acquisition of Freaks 4U Gaming
Nodwin currently holds a 13.51% stake and will increase this in tranches to 57%, then 100%
Hot Five
Hot Five: Garena Free Fire snipes $4BN, Pokémon dev Game Freak’s first mobile exclusive, and Supercell’s next project imminent
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Acquisition Ahead
CyberAgent to acquire NitroPlus in $104 million deal
Digital advertising firm and games publisher will support new subsidiary's efforts for global IP expansion
M&a
OV Entertainment Group acquires co-development studio Kokku and tech firm 3OGS
Kokku chief exec and founder Thiago de Freitas named CEO of OV Entertainment Group following the deals
Hot Five
Hot Five: Japan’s newest stars, Nordic numbers, and Tripledot Studios’ acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Acqusitions
Verve Group acquires Jun Group for $185 million
The acquisition is expected to close in September pending the usual round of regulatory approvals
M&a
Tripledot Studios acquires Get Color developer Zephyr Mobile
UK firm picks up 55-person team responsible for Get Colour, Hey Colour and Math Crossword
Real Deal
Voodoo snaps up photo-sharing app BeReal in €500m deal
Games publisher plans to invest in product strategy, growth and infrastructure
Angry Birds X Sonic
How Playtika triggered Sega’s Rovio acquisition and what happens next
PocketGamer.biz sits down with Rovio VP of strategy and investor relations Timo Rahkonen to discuss the big Sega acquisition and what the future holds for the famous Finnish studio
M&a
ByteDance sells Red Alert Online dev C4 Games for $35.8 million
Film and entertainment firm says Red Alert can generate "considerable revenue" in the future
Acqusitions
PlanetPlay's parent company acquires Playmob to battle climate change
PlanetPlay CEO Rhea Loucas says, "Through the combination of our gaming and sustainability efforts, we can all collectively make a difference for our planet"
Hot Five
Hot Five: XCOM Legends’ rumoured shutdown, Squad Busters verges on soft launch, and Royal Match reaches $3 billion
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Sell Outs
Thunderful is selling Headup for €500,000
The company is being bought by Headup's own CEO and founder
Something To Sell
Embracer to sell Borderlands dev Gearbox to Take-Two in $460m deal
Gearbox games from Borderlands and Homeworld to Duke Nukem will fall under Take-Two’s possession
Acquisition Expansion
The Collective Ace Group and By Aliens take on the world with latest acquisition
By Aliens joins The Most Games and Odspeed Games under The Collective Ace Group’s expanding global umbrella, bringing more than 70 games into the fold
Into The Numbers
Gaming M&As down 43% year-on-year while deal value falls 69%
Q1 2022 saw the most spending on M&A in the past five years