Geoff Keighley suggests more big video game acquisitions are on the way

Further games industry consolidation is reportedly on the horizon, with a key industry figure claiming plans for several big acquisitions are at an advanced stage.

On January 10, Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two revealed its intention to purchase mobile gaming giant Zynga in a $12.7 billion deal – at the time the biggest ever in the games industry.

The following week, it was announced that Microsoft plans to purchase Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal which would give Xbox exclusive ownership of franchises including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot and Guitar Hero.

And on Monday, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) revealed it is set to acquire Destiny studio and Halo creator Bungie in a deal worth $3.6 billion.

Discussing industry consolidation on Tuesday, influential figure Geoff Keighley suggested more major deals could be announced sooner rather than later.

The Game Awards creator tweeted: “Have heard from multiple people: As you might suspect, there are a few other big video game deals in final stages of negotiations. It’s going to be an interesting year!”

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Following the announcement of the Bungie deal, SIE boss Jim Ryan confirmed that the company intends to make more acquisitions.

“We should absolutely expect more,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. “We are by no means done. With PlayStation, we have a long way to go.”

According to research by investment banking firm Drake Star (via GI.biz), merger and acquisition activity in games hit a record $85 billion in 2021, which was three times the value of the previous year.