The analytical company InvestGame released a report on the state of the gaming investment market last year. Here’s what it says.
In 2024, companies related to video games executed deals totaling $23.2 billion. Compared to 2023, this amount decreased by 72.7%. However, if you exclude the industry-record acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for $68.7 billion from the 2023 data, the comparison is not as dramatic — in this case, the volume of deals in 2024 would reflect a year-on-year increase of 46.8%.
The number of gaming deals in 2024 was 665, representing a 14% rise from 2023.
The number and volume of gaming deals by type from 2020 to 2024
Private Investments
- Traditionally, the majority of deals were made in private investments, totaling 466. Their count increased by 12.3% over the year.
- The annual volume of private investments rose by 78.5% to $5 billion.
- Venture capital (VC) funds invested less frequently in gaming studios, opting to fund startups in technology and platform domains. In contrast, corporate venture capital (CVC) funds paid more attention to game developers.
- A significant portion of early investments in gaming studios was made in the US (47 deals) and Europe (44 deals), while Asia had 22 such investments, and the Middle East and North Africa had 16.
The largest investments in gaming companies, technologies, and platforms in 2024
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
- Compared to 2023, the number of closed M&A deals rose by 18.5% to 147.
- The total volume of closed M&A deals for 2024 was $8.6 billion. Relative to 2023, it dropped by 94.5% (excluding the Activision Blizzard acquisition, by 2.3%).
- In 2024, companies pursued more strategic deals aimed at long-term benefits. In the previous year, many prioritized risky, short-term acquisitions.
The largest M&A deals in 2024
Public Offerings
- Activity in the public offerings segment continued to recover. Over the year, gaming companies went public 52 times, an 18% increase from 2023.
- The total size of public offerings in 2024 was $9.6 billion, marking an increase of 128.5%.