Games M&A hits $3bn disclosed deal value in Q2 2025

Krafton's $516 million acquisition of Japanese firm ADK is the largest out of 46 M&A deals in the games industry during Q2 2025.

That's according to Drake Star's Q2 2025 Global Gaming report, which also highlighted one of the year's biggest gaming VC exits thus far: CVC investing around $2.5 billion in Dream Games at a $5bn valuation.

The quarter recorded 110 private placements totalling $3bn in disclosed deal value.

Other notable deals included Tencent’s $80m investment in Arrowhead, Wolves Esports Club raising $28m, AI startup Sett securing $27m, Bigger Games completing a $25m Series A and Hybe raising $21m.

Rebounds and investments 

Drake Star's report found that over the past year, top games investors included Play Ventures, Bitkraft and Makers Fund among major firms, with Goodwater, TIRTA and 1AM Gaming leading at the seed stage.

Strategically, Krafton, Tencent and Samsung were the most active, while Animoca, Spartan and Gam3Girl Ventures led investments in blockchain gaming.

As public gaming stocks rebounded strongly in H1 2025, Drake Star expects the recovery to spark a new wave of M&A through late 2025 and into 2026, as companies leverage improved valuations for growth. 

Top performers included Square Enix (+91%), Roblox (+80%) and Konami (+68%), while standout stocks in Europe included CD Projekt RED, everplay group and MTG. In the US, Roblox, Corsair and Take-Two led the charge.

Take-Two Interactive has proposed a $1bn public stock offering, with the option to raise an additional $150m. 

GameStop also revealed plans to raise over $2bn through debt, while Embracer intends to spin off Coffee Stain Group, and Discord is in late-stage talks with banks for a potential IPO.