Disney CEO Reportedly Urged to Acquire a Big Videogame Publisher Like EA
The videogame industry is in the middle of an “acquisition” phase right now, with some of the biggest and most critically praised developers and publishers being snapped up by megacorporations, with Disney’s CEO Bob Iger apparently being urged to get in on the act.
According to Bloomberg via Video Games Chronicle (VGC), senior executives at Disney are pushing for Iger to acquire a big videogame publisher so that Disney can enter an increasingly lucrative industry. Bob Iger has supposedly been noncomittal about the prospect, but VGC has reported in the past that publishing giant EA has held talks in the past with Disney, Apple and Amazon about a possible sale.
If Star Wars fans recognise the name EA, it’s because the publisher has a rich recent history with Disney and Star Wars in particular. EA signed a 10-year exclusivity deal to make Star Wars videogames back in 2013 with mixed success, leading to the creation of high profile games Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars Battlefront II, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The latter two games released to critical and commercial success, so it’s easy to see why Disney executives might look at EA as the ideal company to get their foot in the door of the games industry.
Other giant companies are already buying up talented developers and publishers. Microsoft recently aquired Zenimax Media — whose developers are known for games like Skyrim, Doom and the Fallout series — and have just completed their acquisition of Activision Blizzard, who oversee development of the Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo and World of Warcraft series among others. Chinese company Tencent has acquired Riot Games, known for League of Legends, and has invested in many other companies including Epic Games, responsible for Fortnite. Sony recently acquired the developer Bungie Studios — creators of the Destiny series — and has been linked with acquiring some major Japanese developers and publishers for some time now.
EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson has been evasive when asked about a potential sale on the record at a recent earnings call:
First, I’m sure you don’t expect me to comment on rumors and speculation from some small red media outlets. But be that as it may, I would tell you, I think we are in an incredible position. We’re soon to be the largest standalone independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment in the world.
I think we’re growing across platforms, we’re growing across business models, and we’re growing across geographies. And in a world where gaming is becoming more important to the lives of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who will be the leading generation in terms of consumption, entertainment for the future, I don’t think we could be in a stronger position as a standalone company.
While he doesn’t outright say that EA are looking for a deal with megacorporations, he makes a good case for why EA would make for a good acquisition by any of these companies if they decided to go through with the deal. Their portfolio is impressive — on top of their Star Wars titles, acquiring them would give Disney ownership of the Battlefield, Dead Space, Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, along with the immensely popular FIFA and Madden franchises, among many others — so you can see why Disney would be interested.
For now though, it seems Bob Iger is yet to be convinced in an era where he is attempting to be smarter at spending Disney’s money.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
