2022 Was The Second-Finest Yr Ever For Gaming Funding, Mergers, and Acquisitions, And 2023 Might Be Even Higher

What had been the massive offers of 2022? Of the transactions included within the DDM’s full report, a number of the largest had been Take-Two Interactive’s $12.7 billion buy of Farmville developer Zynga, Unity’s $4.4 billion merger with monetization and distribution app firm ironsource, and Sony’s $3.6 billion buy of Future 2 dev Bungie.

The place did the trade expertise issues final yr? 2022’s totals might have been even higher the report argues, however the main falloff within the crypto market, excessive rates of interest, inflation, and issues a couple of doable recession had some buyers feeling cautious.

What about subsequent yr? DDM’s optimistic outlook for 2023 hinges to a significant diploma on the results of Microsoft’s hopeful acquisition of gaming large Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. That will be the largest gaming deal in historical past and would beat most years’ cumulative funding and M&A totals all by itself.

Is the results of that merger in query? The acquisition appears removed from a positive factor at this level. Within the U.S., the Federal Commerce Fee sued to stop the deal. Within the U.Okay., the Competitors and Markets Authority claimed that the deal would threaten competitors within the gaming market and be dangerous for players. Different European governments are additionally skeptical concerning the deal, and it appears like there may very well be an extended solution to go earlier than any decision is discovered.

“Nonetheless, DDM believes 2023 is shaping to be one other good yr for gaming investments, acquisitions, and IPOs, however trade progress shall be hampered till macroeconomic pressures ease,” claims the report.