According to reports from U.S. media, EA is looking for a buyer. Electronic Arts, the publisher and developer of games like FIFA 22 and Apex Legends, is said to prefer being acquired by mega-corporations like Apple or Disney. MeinMMO tells you what’s behind this.
As reported by the American website Puck, EA is in talks with several major corporations like Disney, Apple, and Amazon. The maker of FIFA, Battlefield, and Apex Legends wants to be acquired or merge with companies like NBCUniversal.
Although no fixed agreement has been reached yet, EA’s plans seem to be quite concrete – as well as the desire to finalize a deal.
EA recognizes industry trend of large acquisitions and consolidations
What is being reported? Dylan Byers from Puck reports on EA’s concrete plans and those of their CEO, Andrew Wilson:
In recent years, as media companies have shown a greater interest in the rapidly growing gaming industry, [Andrew] Wilson and Electronic Arts have engaged in talks with a number of different potential buyers, including Disney, Apple, and Amazon.
Multiple sources familiar with these discussions say that EA is persistently pushing for a sale and has been encouraged by the Microsoft-Activision deal. Others say that EA is primarily interested in a merger agreement that would allow Wilson to remain as Chief Executive of the combined company.
Dylan Byers for Puck
Preferably, Andrew Wilson would like to remain in a leadership role. However, EA is expected to be integrated into an even larger corporation – through a sale or a merger.
In a statement to Kotaku, EA spokesperson John Reseburg said that they “do not comment on rumors and speculation related to mergers and acquisitions.”
What could be the reason? As Byers states, EA’s efforts are likely in light of a new trend in the gaming industry. More and more developers and publishers are being acquired and merged.
Notable examples:
- In January 2022, GTA publisher Take-Two acquired Zynga for $12.7 billion.
- Also in January, it became known that Microsoft wants to buy Activision Blizzard – for $68.7 billion. Microsoft had previously acquired Bethesda.
- Sony is buying Destiny developer Bungie for €3.2 billion – this also happened in January.
In February, EA announced that it prefers to buy rather than be bought. Since then, the plan has apparently changed. Byers reports that Wilson approached Disney as early as March to finalize a “more significant deal than licensing. “
This statement is particularly striking, as EA has lost prominent licensing contracts. While many Star Wars games are in development at EA, and Star Wars now belongs to Disney. However, just a few days ago it became known that EA will release football games in the future without the FIFA license.
What does this mean for the employees? Whatever the future of EA may look like, a major concern related to consolidation is the question of how it will ultimately affect the employees of these companies.
As Kotaku reports, an estimated 200 customer service employees are set to be laid off. “According to four of the affected employees, their work is being outsourced to cheaper third parties in Romania and India,” Kotaku writes.
This could also be a sign that EA wants to make itself more attractive to potential buyers.
The gaming industry is generally in a very turbulent phase. A new trend of employees from gaming developers forming unions also shows this:
First union of large video game companies founded in the USA – Here’s what’s behind it
