Video Game Industry “Recovery And Improvement” In 2024 Boosted Total Investment Activity To $17.5B – Study

EXCLUSIVE: The video game industry saw “recovery and improvement” in 2024, with overall investment activity reaching $17.5 billion, according to the latest report from DDM Games.

DDM, short for Digital Development Management, is an agency providing representation, consulting and investment services, conducts regular studies of the sector.

When comparing 2024 to 2023, the study notes, a major outlier has to be taken into account. Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for in the fourth quarter of 2023, paying $68.7 billion in by far the biggest gaming transaction in history. When that megadeal is taken out of the mix, 2024 transactions rose 39% in value and 16% in volume over 2023.

The tally of 985 investments and M&A transactions last year approached the all-time high of 1,001 in 2022. The market capitalization of video game firms having their IPOs in 2024 reached $3.07 billion, a nearly five-fold increase from 2023.

“As the games industry moves on from ‘survive til 25,’ 2024 games investment and M&A data reveals recovery and improvement,” the report said.

As far as the outlook for 2025, DDM is guardedly optimistic.

“While investors are being more cautious, top gaming giants and publishers including Hasbro, Krafton, My.Games, Nazara Technologies, and Say Games have all announced cash reserves to invest in games,” the firm noted. This year has already gotten off to a fast start, with Miniclip’s $1.2B acquisition of Easy Brain, MTG’s $820.0M acquisition of Plarium, and Scopely reportedly closing in on a $3.5 billion deal to acquire Pokémon Go studio Niantic’s gaming division.

The early momentum extends strength going back to the second half of 2024, when M&A of $5.8B across 85 transactions gained 43% in value and dipped just a fraction in volume compared to the first half of the year.

Depending on the direction of interest rates, DDM said, private equity could play a big role in dealmaking. “In 2024, private equity firms snapped up a few large gaming studios including Keywords Studios, Jagex, and Kahoot! and if interest rates decrease, private equity firms will continue to have interest in large gaming M&A deals,” the report said.