Gamigion

Electronic Arts is going private in a record-breaking $55B leveraged buyout — the largest in gaming history. The deal was stitched together by Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, which pulled in Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Silver Lake to lead the consortium. EA shareholders will receive $210 per share in cash, a 25% premium over Friday’s pre-leak price. But beyond the flashy headline lies the real story: $20B in debt financing strapped onto the new EA. That means pressure for AI-driven cost cuts, layoffs, and more aggressive monetization to sustain profits under private ownership. Why Now? EA — publisher of EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, The Sims, and the upcoming Battlefield 6 — has struggled with slowing industry growth post-pandemic. Free-to-play, live-service franchises have eroded premium game sales, leaving EA facing layoffs, creative stagnation, and investor pressure. Going private […]

The problem isn’t quality, it’s quantity. AppMagic tracked over 1.3M mobile game launches globally in 2024 across iOS and Google Play. Yet only ~2% break into the Top 500, where Discovery & Monetization actually happen. Players today aren’t choosing between one or two new releases; they’re buried under an avalanche. And unlike the 1983 crash, this flood isn’t low-quality shovelware. Many of these games are excellent. The real crisis? Even great games are invisible... Harder Than Ever to Break Through Mobile game developers feel this pressure most acutely. In 2014, a decent UA campaign & strong App Store feature could push a mid-size studio to success. Today: UA costs have skyrocketed. Global CPI averages jumped 30% YoY in 2024, with some genres hitting $3–5 per install in Tier-1 markets. Service games dominate attention. Roblox, PUBG Mobile, Free Fire, and Coin […]

Electronic Arts, the publisher behind FIFA (now FC), Madden NFL, The Sims, Battlefield, and more, is reportedly on the brink of a seismic shift in its history. According to The Wall Street Journal, the California-based gaming giant is in advanced talks to go private in a deal valued at roughly $50 billion. If finalized, this would mark the largest leveraged buyout ever — not just in gaming, but across all industries. The Investor Group A consortium of heavyweight investors is leading the charge: Silver Lake (private equity) Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner’s investment firm The group could unveil the deal as early as next week, people familiar with the matter said. Market Reaction EA’s market cap sat around $43B before reports of the talks surfaced. Once the news hit, shares skyrocketed nearly 15%, closing at a […]

Scopely has cemented itself as one of mobile gaming’s biggest powerhouses. Founded in 2011, the Los Angeles studio behind Monopoly Go!, Stumble Guys, Marvel Strike Force, and Star Trek Fleet Command has surpassed $10B in lifetime revenue and 1B+ downloads, with six franchises each crossing the $1B mark. Now owned by Savvy Games Group, Scopely’s growth strategy revolves around three pillars: Technology – its Playgami platform powers free-to-play, always-on live services. Development – working with the best studios worldwide, not just in-house. Distribution – leveraging top IP (Marvel, Disney, Warner Bros., WWE) and, most recently, acquiring Niantic’s gaming division for $3.5B, including Pokémon Go. “Play is one of the most fundamental human needs,” says co-CEO Walter Driver. “If you can create experiences where communities thrive, games can last for decades.” With Monopoly Go! already hitting $5B in just two years, […]

Every few years, a company comes along that doesn’t just join the ad tech race… it redraws the track. We’re watching OpenAI level up into ad tech’s next powerhouse. OpenAI just dropped a rare signal: they’re building in-house ad infrastructure. Not outsourced. Not stitched-together. Their own engine. The job listing? A Growth Paid Marketing Platform Engineer to build the backbone of what could become one of the most important new ad networks: Campaign management tools ✅ Ad platform integrations ✅ Real-time attribution pipelines ✅ Experimentation frameworks ✅ This isn’t about running a few ads. It’s about designing the MarTech core that powers scale, efficiency, and automated optimization. 💡 Why it matters: Few companies ever build their own buying systems, outside of Google, Meta, Amazon. If OpenAI nails this internally, it could flip into a ChatGPT ad platform, letting brands launch […]