Massive offers.
Many mature industries development towards consolidation as time goes on, and the online game enterprise is not any completely different. Massive corporations are purchased and bought for enormous sums of cash.
However what are the largest of the massive buyouts? Right here on this publish, we’re rounding up the highest 12 costliest online game acquisitions of all time, an inventory that is topped by Microsoft’s gargantuan $75.4 billion deal to purchase Activision Blizzard in what is much and away the largest gaming deal in historical past. It is also one of many greatest acquisitions–throughout all markets from oil and power to know-how. Coming in second was the surprise-announcement of EA promoting itself to an investor consortium for $55 billion.
Microsoft truly makes the record thrice, essentially the most of any single firm, spending greater than $80 billion on online game buyouts since 2014. One other development on this record is Saudi Arabia. The nation’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) owns Savvy Video games, which paid $4.9 billion to purchase Scopely. Then, in 2025, Scopely paid $3.5 billion to purchase Pokemon Go. Additionally in 2025, PIF was a part of the above-mentioned investor consortium that purchased EA. In February 2026, it was reported that Savvy Video games was in discussions with ByteDance to purchase Moonton for as a lot as $7 billion.
12: Microsoft – Mojang – $2.5 billion (2014)
Earlier than Microsoft purchased ZeniMax or introduced plans to select up Activision Blizzard, the corporate made a giant buy in 2014 for Mojang and the Minecraft sequence. Microsoft paid $2.5 billion for the studio and the franchise, and has since launched new entries within the sequence, together with Minecraft Legends most lately. Since Microsoft purchased Mojang, it is continued to launch Minecraft video games on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms, quite than making them unique to Xbox. The corporate has stated it will do the identical for Name of Responsibility if allowed to buy Activision Blizzard.
11: Sony – Bungie – $3.6 billion (2022)
Microsoft could also be within the strategy of buying the Name of Responsibility sequence, however Sony’s deal to purchase one other distinguished FPS studio, Bungie, is already achieved and dusted. In 2022, Sony introduced it will pay $3.6 billion to accumulate Bungie and the Future sequence. Future is a beloved juggernaut, however Sony is clearly trying past that sport as effectively and hoping Bungie will strike gold once more with its future video games. Not solely that, however Sony has stated it is eager to lean on Bungie’s expertise within the live-service division to assist with PlayStation’s total live-service push (Sony plans to have 10 live-service video games out there by 2026).
10: Scopely – Pokemon Go – $3.5 billion (2025)
In March 2025, Saudi Arabian-owned cell developer Scopely introduced that it will be buying Niantic’s online game division, paying $3.5 billion for the developer behind Pokemon Go. Additionally included within the proposed deal are a number of different Niantic titles, like Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom.
9: ByteDance – Moonton – $4 billion (2021)
In March 2021, TikTok proprietor ByteDance introduced its video games division, Nuverse, would pay $4 billion to purchase the Shanghai-based sport developer Moonton Know-how. That is a part of ByteDance’s push into the online game enterprise and makes it extra of a competitor with one other Chinese language firm, Tencent. Moonton is greatest recognized for its MOBA Cellular Legends. It was reported by Reuters that Tencent made a suggestion for Moonton earlier than ByteDance beat it.
8: Savvy Video games Group – Scopely – $4.9 billion (2023)
In April 2023, the Saudi Arabia-owned Savvy Video games Group bought cell and social sport developer Scopely for $4.9 billion. You won’t know Scopely by identify, however the firm has labored on video games in juggernaut franchises like Star Trek, The Strolling Lifeless, and Marvel. It is also behind the sport Stumble Guys, a colourful battle royale sport that’s seemingly impressed by Mediatonic’s Fall Guys.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund has been making main investments within the gaming house by Savvy for a while already. Along with shopping for Scopely outright, Savvy holds minority possession positions in Capcom, Nexon, EA, and Take-Two. Savvy additionally owns 40 million shares of Activision Blizzard and is in line for an enormous payday if Microsoft’s deal to purchase Activision Blizzard goes by. What’s extra, Saudi Arabia owns greater than 8% of Nintendo and is the Mario firm’s largest exterior investor. Savvy Video games Group has main plans to proceed to develop and create its personal sport growth ecosystem, so watch this house for extra.
7: Activision Blizzard – King – $5.9 billion (2015)
In 2015, Activision Blizzard introduced it will purchase Sweet Crush developer King for $5.9 billion to assist develop its footprint within the cell video games house. Sweet Crush stays a juggernaut on cell, and people revenues have been flowing to Activision Blizzard for years now. Ought to Microsoft get approval to buy Activision Blizzard, the Xbox firm will take possession of Sweet Crush and the quite a few different cell video games Activision Blizzard is creating. The truth is, Activision Blizzard has stated it would make a cell sport for each one in every of its franchises.
6: Savvy Video games Group – Moonton – $6 billion or $7 billion (2026)
In February 2026, it was reported that Savvy Video games Group was in discussions with ByteDance to purchase cell sport developer Moonton for $6 billion or as a lot as $7 billion.
As some could recall, ByteDance purchased Moonton in 2021 for $4 billion. The deal is predicted to be finalized quickly, at which era the total and particular phrases ought to develop into recognized.
5: Microsoft – ZeniMax – $8.1 billion (2020)
Microsoft’s second-biggest buy within the gaming house was the $8.1 billion it paid to accumulate ZeniMax in 2020. ZeniMax is the mum or dad firm of Bethesda Recreation Studios, the makers of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, amongst others. Microsoft acquired all of ZeniMax’s groups and sequence, which means Starfield, The Elder Scrolls 6, Fallout 5, the subsequent Wolfenstein sport, and extra will probably be Microsoft video games going ahead. The transition wasn’t completely easy, nevertheless, as Microsoft lately laid off workers on its video games groups, together with Bethesda. The deal has additionally generated some debate and dialogue about Microsoft taking previously multiplatform franchises and making them unique to Xbox.
4: Tencent – Supercell – $8.6 billion (2016)
Chinese language web big Tencent has made various investments and acquisitions of studios all over the world, and Conflict of Clans developer Supercell is its greatest buyout of the bunch. In 2016, Tencent introduced plans to accumulate a majority stake in Supercell for about $8.6 billion. To place this quantity into perspective and for example of the rising dimension of M&A exercise within the online game sector, Tencent paid about $400 million to purchase League of Legends developer Riot again in 2011.
3: Take-Two – Zynga – $12.7 billion (2022)
Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K mum or dad firm Take-Two Interactive introduced in January 2022 that it will buy FarmVille big Zynga for $12.7 billion. On the time, it was far and away the largest acquisition within the historical past of video video games, solely to be outdone by Microsoft a number of weeks later. In any occasion, Take-Two paid thrice greater than Disney did for Star Wars to assist get a foothold within the profitable and rising cell video games market by its acquisition of Zynga.
2. Investor Consortium – EA – $55 billion (2025)
On September 29, 2025 EA introduced that it bought itself to an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Companions, and personal fairness firm Silver Lake for a payment of $55 billion. EA CEO Andrew Wilson will stay CEO.
1: Microsoft – Activision Blizzard – $75.4 billion (2022/2023)
Microsoft introduced its intent to buy Activision Blizzard in February 2022 for the gargantuan sum of $68.7 billion. The know-how big spent a very long time taking numerous steps to persuade regulatory our bodies to approve the deal, and it was lastly accepted in October 2023. The ultimate buy worth was $75.4 billion.
