Gaming dealmaking picked up again in Q3 2024: Drake Star counted 56 announced M&A deals, a 70% increase from Q3 2023, with $2.5 billion in disclosed deal value. The quarter’s largest named transaction was Playtika’s acquisition of mobile-game developer SuperPlay, valued at $700 million at close or $1.95 billion including earn-out. These are historical figures from Drake Star’s report published October 24, 2024—not a description of today’s market.
What “fourth straight quarter” means
Drake Star said gaming M&A deal count increased for four consecutive quarters through Q3 2024. In that quarter, it recorded 56 announced M&A deals, 70% more than in Q3 2023, and $2.5 billion in disclosed deal value. The count and value describe different things: the deal count includes transactions whether or not a price was disclosed, while the value totals disclosed amounts. The report does not establish a price for every deal.
Drake Star’s broader deal-count methodology includes announced and/or closed M&A, private placements, IPOs, SPACs, and public financing deals. Its public-markets category includes IPOs, SPACs, and public financings, so those broader totals should not be mistaken for the 56 M&A deals. Drake Star says it compiled the report using Capital IQ, PitchBook, and DSP Research as underlying inputs. Read Drake Star’s Global Gaming Report Q3 2024.
Notable gaming acquisitions in Q3 2024
Playtika and SuperPlay
Playtika’s acquisition of SuperPlay was the quarter’s largest deal listed by Drake Star. The reported value was $700 million at close, rising to $1.95 billion when the earn-out was included. The two figures reflect different deal terms; the earn-out portion is conditional rather than an amount paid at closing.
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Other named transactions
Drake Star also listed acquisitions involving Tencent and Aojue Digital; Warner Bros. Discovery and Player First; Krafton and Tango Gameworks; Capcom and Minimum Studios; Keywords and Wushu Studios; Nazara and Fusebox and Deltias Gaming; and Infinite Reality and LandVault. The report’s list is not a claim that these were the only gaming transactions during the quarter.
Where gaming investment went
Private financing and company stage
Companies raised $1.1 billion through 181 private financing deals, according to Drake Star. More than 90% of investor activity went to seed and early-stage companies. The report separately described funding conditions for growth-stage studios as challenging; a large number of early-stage investments therefore should not be read as evidence that companies at every stage could raise easily.
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Sector mix
Drake Star reported that blockchain gaming attracted about 32% of investments and platform/tools about 23%. Those percentages describe the report’s investment distribution, not each sector’s share of all gaming-company revenue or an independently stated dollar total.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Public-market context and Drake Star’s 2024 outlook
Drake Star said its Gaming Index was up 10.2% over the first nine months of 2024. In October 2024, the firm forecast that M&A would strengthen through the remainder of 2024 and into 2025, linking its expectation to lower interest rates and a gradual recovery in public gaming markets. That was a forecast made at the time; the report does not establish whether the prediction came true.
In contemporaneous GamesBeat coverage published October 24, 2024, Drake Star Partners partner Michael Metzger said: “This ongoing recovery in valuations is likely to further stimulate M&A activity in the future.” The comment reflects the firm’s view then, not a guarantee about subsequent deal activity. Read the GamesBeat coverage.
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