Apple Among Several Major Media, Tech Firms in Acquisition Talks with Electronic Arts

Ryan Epps, Tech Times 23 May 2022, 08:05 pm

The age of consolidation is ever-growing as reports surface of Electronic Arts in the heat of various discussions across industries regarding a potential acquisition. Including the likes of NBCUniversal, Amazon, and even Disney, EA Games, publisher of among the most heralded sports and action based franchises, is seeking to be gobbled up much akin to fellow game makers, like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, both of which now belong to Microsoft.

Of major contenders for EA's acquisition is none other than Apple. Despite its seeming far reach from the gaming industry, Apple has proven over the last several years to begin inching into the market through such products and services, most prominent among them being Apple Arcade. Released in Sept. 2019, Apple Arcade acts as Apple's video game subscription service akin to Xbox Game Pass, only with mobile experiences running primarily on iOS.

While not exactly on par with the likes of Game Pass, Arcade does lend credence to Apple's positioning within the gaming sphere, costing as low as $5 a month. Although nothing concrete or official has been announced, rumors have suggested that Apple is working internally on a robust video game console with potential titles in the works that could be on par with Xbox and PlayStation.

While it's nothing substantial, it does lend credence to the optics surrounding EA Game's recent acquisition talks. Publisher and developer of such franchises and experiences as NHL, FIFA, Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, EA is one of the most proliferated entities in the gaming industry, despite its somewhat tarnished namesake. Its exploitation of players through the implementation of loot boxes in games over the years has led EA to become the posterboy for malignant practices.

Without said issues, however, EA could add a host of interesting experiences to Apple's Arcade service and beyond. Mobile gaming has and will continue to expand into the next several years, expressed best in such previous acquisitions as the aforementioned Activision Blizzard under Microsoft, as well as Take-Two Interactive's $12.7 billion purchase of Zynga, which was officially completed today, May 23rd.

King, one of the largest mobile video game developers, is a subsidiary under Activision Blizzard and is largely attributed to Microsoft's purchase of the firm. The $70 billion deal would make Microsoft, following the acquisition's regulatory approval, a remarkable force within the mobile video game market. Of note likewise is China's massive mobile video game market, which by 2023 is slated to reach into the 356 billion yuan mark, proving of the staggering legs behind the smartphone-based gaming realm.

Still, Apple has remained at arm's length from the more major gaming world. While talks were reported and clearly discussed as EA shops itself around, no real foundational efforts were made by the tech conglomerate. EA came rather close to being acquired under NBCUniversal, yet was ultimately turned down due to price constraints and the necessity to keep EA's current CEO, Andrew Wilson, in his seat, which could well have thrown a wrench into the Apple discussions, but all remains unclear.

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Written by Ryan Epps