In the first quarter of 2025, mergers and acquisitions in the video game industry have reached $6.6 billion, largely propelled by deals in the mobile gaming sector

The gaming industry saw a surge in mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2025, reaching a total of $6.6 billion, the highest in over a year, largely influenced by the mobile gaming sector.

A significant boost was provided by Scopely's acquisition of Niantic's games business, including Pokémon GO, in a deal valued at $3.5 billion. This information comes from a newsletter released by Aream, a bank specializing in gaming investments, in collaboration with InvestGame. The recent quarter marked the highest activity for mergers and acquisitions since the final quarter of 2023, which saw Microsoft finalize its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

It's important to differentiate between finalized mergers and those merely announced, as clarified in the report. Below is a graphical representation of recent trends in mergers and acquisitions:

a graph of merger and acquisition trends over the past five years — Image credit: Aream

During this period, other major transactions included Miniclip's $1.2 billion purchase of Easybrain, and AppLovin's sale of its mobile gaming division for $900 million to concentrate on mobile advertising efforts. The figures also encompass Take-Two's acquisition of Gearbox Entertainment, the creators of Borderlands, for $460 million.

According to the report, the current level of activity surpasses the period before the pandemic. This recent surge is attributed to strategic players actively restructuring their portfolios and select private consolidators pursuing acquisitions, coupled with increasing interest from private equity in this sector.

Furthermore, the report highlights challenges in securing private financing within gaming, notably in later-stage investment rounds. This quarter recorded the lowest in years:

a graph of gaming financing trends over the past five years — Image credit: Aream

Early-stage private investment, such as Series A funding, is also facing similar trends.

For additional details on the current state of the industry, the full newsletter provides further insights.