Since entering 2022, Microsoft, Sony and many other large companies have made at least one industry acquisition or M&A, with Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in January this year is the most significant. This is Microsoft’s highest-priced acquisition ever. So some people think that Ubisoft and EA could also consider mergers and acquisitions.
In an interview with Barron’s, EA executive Vince Zampella admitted that M&A is a “big trend” and that big acquisition can help some studios complete projects they would not otherwise be able to execute, but there is also a negative side – creativity is stifled. – Creativity is stifled.
“There are benefits to that. It can also have a negative effect as well. I think we need to be careful that we’re not suppressing creativity.” He said, “But what are we leaving behind in that regard? We have to be careful that we’re always innovating and looking for the next thing – not just focusing on what’s in front of us.”
Amazon Games boss Christoph Hartmann agrees that every business, including games, will eventually lead to a monopoly.
Zampella, who started Respawn Entertainment after being fired by Infinity Ward, knows firsthand about acquisitions – after all, Respawn was acquired by EA right after the release of Titanfall.
The executive is now in charge of EA’s Battlefield team, and he has some thoughts on the problems with Battlefield 2042. He said that DICE is a little too far from the essence of Battlefield. The studio had some ideas, such as increasing the number of players to 128 in a game, that was “perhaps ambitious,” and “the way they planned and executed simply didn’t allow them to find the best state.
The biggest acquisitions in the gaming sector so far in 2022 include Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga for $12.7 billion, Sony’s acquisition of Bungie for $3.6 billion, and Microsoft’s attempt to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
