Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard Focus on Games As A Service

Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard Focus on Games As A Service

The new DFC report, The Business of Video Games, looks at the gap between games as a service and traditional pay-to-play games.  As we discussed last week, these are two very different segments of the industry.  This week we are looking at how two traditional pay-to-play game companies, Electronic Arts and.....

Vivendi Controls 50 Percent of Gameloft

MAY 31, 2016 • Vivendi SA now controls more than 50% of mobile game publisher Gameloft SE based on results announced by French regulator AMF that 28.2 million Gameloft shares were tendered to Vivendi’s €8 per share tender offer – equaling 61.7% of share capital and 55.6% of voting rights. Until these results, Vivendi held 29.5% of Gameloft stock, and last week got the support of hedge fund Amber Capital, which owns 14.6%. The hostile takeover began in Febr.....

Riot Games Acquires Radiant

MARCH 10, 2016 • Riot Games has acquired Los Altos, Calif.-based Radiant Entertainment for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is the first for Riot. Radiant was founded in 2013 by brothers Tom and Tony Cannon. Their first title is the crowdfunded town building simulation game, Stonehearth, which is still in alpha. Also in alpha was Radiant’s second project, the free-to-play fighting game Rising Thunder. Although production of Stonehearth will continue, Ri.....

Activision Blizzard Spends Big On King

NOV. 3, 2015 • Activision Blizzard is spending $5.9 billion ($18 per share) to acquire all outstanding shares of Dublin, Ireland-based Candy Crush Saga creator King Digital Entertainment. Of the total, $3.6 billion is cash that Activision Blizzard has parked outside the United States. The remainder is made up by a loan fronted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs Bank. The a.....

Zapak Strengthens China Ties

SEPT. 29, 2015 • Zapak Mobile Games Private Ltd, a division of India’s Reliance Entertainment, has sealed two agreements to pursue several China-related endeavors. The first saw an Rs 989 million ($15 million) investment by Lead Eastern Investment Co., Ltd. based in Datong, China. Th.....

Venture Capital, Mitch Lasky & Outpost

SEPT. 3, 2015 • Outpost Games, Inc. secured $6.2 million in funding from Benchmark back in July. The startup has plans to release PC games that incorporate a built-in platform for users to broadcast their in-game exploits to the web. Leading Benchmark’s investment was games industry veteran Mitch Lasky. The former publisher executive has been a partner in the Redwood City-based venture capital firm since 2007 and was instrumental in previously backing both.....