Electronic Arts is looking for a merger or to be acquired

The news: Electronic Arts (EA) explored a merger with NBCUniversal and talked to Disney, Apple, and other corporations, according to reporting from Puck.

• EA is reportedly looking for a merger deal that would allow chief executive Andrew Wilson to head the new entity.
• A potential deal with NBCU fell apart over the price and structure of the post-merger entity—but that doesn’t mean EA is done shopping.

Merger frenzy: This comes as the video game market consolidates like never before.

• Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal that should turn the software giant into one of the world’s largest gaming companies.
• Take-Two Interactive (Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K) completed its acquisition of mobile game giant Zynga for $12.7 billion.
• Sony this year announced it was acquiring Bungie, the maker of the popular Destiny and Halo franchises, as well as Haven.

The big takeaway: Despite the gargantuan deals reached in 2022, the conversation around EA suggests there’s more consolidation to come.

• Part of the excitement surrounding this sector is the sense that games are an untapped market for advertisements—provided advertisers approach this new medium with care.