Leading tech M&A investment bank Drake Star has said that it expects an uptick in gaming acquisitions, including PlayStation acquisitions, based on conversations it has had with “many of the top gaming companies.” Sony is expected to be one of the most “active” buyers starting in 2024.
Previous reports suggest PlayStation is under pressure to make major acquisitions
Drake Star understandably didn’t say which “top” gaming companies it spoke to but told Axios that Tencent, Sony, and Take-Two Interactive will be among the most active buyers in 2024. There was no mention of Microsoft, which will presumably pause its acquisition activity for a while following the high-profile purchase of Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion.
Microsoft has begun the process of integrating Activision Blizzard with Xbox Studios but is still facing a probe from the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S., which recently received the greenlight to examine the Microsoft-Sony Call of Duty deal as well. Meanwhile, Sony is reportedly under pressure to make a major acquisition of its own, per a recent report.
“Q4 [2023] has started on a great note with the era-defining gaming deal in Microsoft/Activision finally closing after a lengthy regulatory review,” Drake Star wrote in its report. “We expect M&A activity to steadily increase in 2024.”
