Annual Gaming Deals Report: 2024

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
The gaming industry saw 665 closed deals in 2024, a 14% increase over 2023, though total deal value dropped 72.5% to $23.2 billion due to the absence of a transaction comparable to Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
02
When excluding the Microsoft-Activision deal, the total value of industry transactions actually increased by 46.8% year-over-year.
03
M&A activity shifted toward strategic, long-term objectives, with 147 M&A deals closed in 2024, representing an 18.5% increase compared to the previous year.
04
Private equity remains the dominant sector, accounting for 466 deals in 2024, with venture capital increasingly targeting platform and tech startups while corporate funds prioritize game development studios.
05
The top five M&A deals of 2024 included EQT’s $2.8 billion acquisition of Keywords Studios, Playtika’s $2 billion deal for SuperPlay, and divestments by Embracer Group, such as the $1.2 billion sale of Easybrain.
06
Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games was the largest private equity deal of the year, while Shift Up’s $320 million IPO stood out as the largest public offering for a South Korean game company since Krafton.
07
Analysts project that M&A activity in 2025 will match or exceed 2024 levels, driven by growing interest in AI, Web3, and tech-centric ventures.

Summary

The 2024 annual gaming deals analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the global video game industry’s investment and transaction landscape. The primary objective is to evaluate market health by tracking deal volume and value, identifying a shift from opportunistic, short-term arbitrage toward strategic, long-term, and objective-driven transactions. The findings indicate that while the total deal value of $23.2 billion represents a significant decline from the previous year, this figure is heavily skewed by the absence of massive, outlier acquisitions like the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. When excluding that specific transaction, the market actually experienced a 46.8% increase in deal value.

Industry activity remained robust throughout 2024, with 665 closed deals representing a 14% year-over-year increase. Private equity emerged as the dominant sector, accounting for 466 of these transactions, while M&A activity rose by 18.5% to 147 deals. Public offerings also saw growth, increasing by 18.1% to 52 total events. Notable M&A transactions included EQT’s $2.8 billion acquisition of Keywords Studios and Playtika’s $2 billion acquisition of SuperPlay, while Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games stood out as a primary private equity highlight.

Looking ahead, the industry anticipates that M&A activity will remain stable or grow, fueled by emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence, Web3, and specialized tech ventures. Analysts expect a continued divergence in investment focus, with venture capital firms prioritizing platform and technology startups while corporate funds maintain their concentration on game development studios. Furthermore, the market environment is projected to become more conducive to initial public offerings for private studios, while public companies are expected to increasingly utilize private investment in public equity to support future growth initiatives.