At the heart of video game news today, we could see a hell of a stir. Rumors concerning the takeover of EA by Amazon were widespread before being quickly invalidated by the main interested parties.
[Mis à jour le 26 août 2022 à 17h04] Between EA and Amazon, nothing is going well. The two American companies would have been recently in discussion about a takeover of the publisher by the e-commerce giant. Information relayed this morning by GLHF, a Swedish news magazine and taken up by USAToday in an article claiming an imminent takeover. This monstrous contract quickly ignited the web and Wall Street, arousing reminiscences of the announcement of takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. However, the American economic news channel CNBC was quick to deny the information, citing sources close to Amazon and EA. We will explain everything to you.
Amazon – EA, future video game giant or just a rumor?
Because imagination would be needed to grasp the scale of such an operation. EA remains one of the largest video game publishers in the world, with an estimated value today of around $35 billion. Battlefield, Apex Legends, FIFA, Madden, Mass Effect, Dead Space, Battlefield… So many franchises that sleep warm in the drawers of Electronic Arts and that could have arrived in the hands of Amazon. Note the use of the conditional, since this takeover rumor was quickly denied by the American news channel CNBC:
The two network reporters can be heard in a conversation lightly mocking the site Good Luck Have Fun for its lack of references in the past. The Swedish newspaper’s lack of sources raises a smile, while CNBC’s David Faber claims to have heard from sources close to Amazon that no discussions were taking place. On the other hand, it is confirmed that Amazon and EA have previously communicated in the past, confirming certain rumors which claimed that Apple, Disney and Amazon had placed themselves as potential buyers.
Because one thing is certain, Electronic Arts wants to sell. The American video game giant had already been close to partnering with NBC – Universal (Comcast) in the past, a deal that was ultimately not concluded due to differences of opinion between the two parties. Other discussions followed with Apple, Amazon and Disney in particular. The only condition of the sale on the EA side, Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, wishes to maintain his position and keep the reins of the company. A complex clause, which seems to postpone the date of purchase of the studio, which will, being realistic, well happen one day.
These rumors echo the titanic takeover of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, worth 69 billion dollars, whose discussions are still ongoing according to Phil Spencer, CEO of Xbox. A purchase of this size had the gift of raising many questions about the ownership of the largest video game publishers, which has become a crucial point in the evolution of the entertainment market. Because indeed, owning publishers means owning licenses, and therefore owning significant market shares in an industry that is constantly growing, especially since the coronavirus pandemic.