Companies looking for growth in gaming industry
Strong growth for gaming is leading to new big deals with companies expanding in this area. Most recently Sony has announced it is buying video game developer Bungie for USD 3.6 billion and the New York Times that is acquiring Wordl. The announcements comes weeks after Microsoft bought gaming company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion dollars with an eye towards the metaverse saying gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment.
Sony stressed that Bungie has created “some of the videogame industry’s most highly-acclaimed franchises, including Halo and Destiny.” The company said the acquisition will give it access to Bungie’s world-class approach to live game services and technology expertise.
“Currently, the team is focused on the long-term development of the hugely successful Destiny 2, expanding the Destiny universe, and creating entirely new worlds in future IP.”
“This is an important step in our strategy to expand the reach of PlayStation to a much wider audience. We understand how vital Bungie’s community is to the studio and look forward to supporting them as they remain independent and continue to grow”, said said Jim Ryan, President and CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment.
“Like Bungie, our community is core to PlayStation’s DNA, and our shared passion for the gamer and building the best place to play will now evolve even further.”
Bungie will be an independent subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment and run by its Board of Directors chaired by CEO Pete Parsons and Bungie’s current management team.
New York Times said its games were played more than 500 million times in 2021, and in December, the company had one million Games subscriptions.
“The Times remains focused on becoming the essential subscription for every English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world. New York Times Games are a key part of that strategy.”
At the time it moves to The New York Times, Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay, said said Jonathan Knight, general manager for The New York Times Games.
Online measurement firm App Annie in a forecast says “the gaming industry is evolving quickly and player empowerment is at the heart of the next wave of innovation. Play-to-earn models — games that allow players to monetize in an open economy — combined with metaverses which emphasize players’ self-expression will be the biggest drivers of mobile gaming innovation in 2022”.
Games analytics firm Newzoo reports that the cloud gaming market in 2021 more than doubled its revenue compared to 2020.
The company predicts that global games market will reach USD 218 billion in consumer spending by 2024 of which USD 116.4 billion is expected to be from mobile games. Cloud gaming will be USD 6.5 billion and esports USD 1.6 billion.
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