(Reuters) – The videogame industry received a massive fillip from the COVID-19 pandemic as people increasingly turned to digital entertainment during lockdowns and firms in the sector consolidated to boost their library of popular titles.
Videogame companies have also sharpened their focus on mobile games as restrictions ease and people ditch their PCs and TV screens to step outside. The mobile gaming market is likely to reach a size of $116.4 billion by 2024, according to data firm Newzoo.
Xbox maker Microsoft Corp said on Jan. 18 that it would buy “Call of Duty” videogame maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in cash, the largest deal in the sector.
Here is a list of the biggest videogame deals in the past few years:
Date Acquirer Target Deal Value Popular
Games
Jan. 2022 Microsoft Corp Activision $68.7 bln Call of
Blizzard Duty
Jan. 2022 Take-Two Zynga $11.04 bln FarmVille
June 2016 Tencent Supercell $8.6 bln Clash of
Holdings-led Oy Clans,
Sept. 2020 Microsoft Corp Zenimax $7.5 bln The Elder
Scrolls
Nov. 2015 Activision King $5.9 bln Candy Crush
Blizzard Saga
July 2016 Chinese Playtika $4.4 bln Best
investor group Fiends,
Bingo blitz
Sept. 2014 Microsoft Corp Mojang $2.5 bln Minecraft
Studios
Feb. 2021 Electronic Arts Glu Mobile $2.4 bln Kim
Kardashian:
Hollywood
June 2021 Electronic Arts Playdemic $1.4 bln Golf Clash
Source: Refinitiv, an LSEG Business
(Reporting by Eva Mathews and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
