The Man Behind Most Gaming Deals

The gaming industry’s merger and acquisition landscape is defined by long-term relationship building rather than purely transactional interactions. Affan Butt, co-founder of the investment bank Aream & Co., emphasizes that successful deals are often the result of years of cultivation, where trust and rapport are established well before a formal sale process begins. Since its inception in 2019, Aream & Co. has advised on over 110 gaming transactions totaling $40 billion, representing more than half of all sell-side deals exceeding $100 million in the sector over the last five years.

The methodology for navigating these deals centers on rigorous preparation and psychological management. Founders are cautioned against viewing inbound interest from corporate development teams as automatic validation, as these inquiries are often routine. Furthermore, the current market environment features a shrinking pool of acquirers due to geopolitical constraints and the consolidation of previous buyers. Consequently, aggressive bidding wars can backfire, damaging a founder’s reputation and trust within a tight-knit industry. Maintaining transparency and avoiding sudden shifts in performance projections during due diligence are critical to preventing deal collapse.

Strategic advice for founders includes the judicious use of secondary share sales to provide liquidity without sacrificing long-term commitment, a practice that varies in cultural acceptance across different geographic regions. While earnouts can serve as effective alignment tools, they frequently become traps when poorly structured or when founders lose control over the variables—such as launch costs or engine changes—that dictate their payouts. Ultimately, the most significant risk for founders is not a failed deal, but a missed opportunity, necessitating a proactive approach to understanding the evolving buyer landscape, which now includes sovereign wealth funds, private equity, and specialized strategic investors.