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Global Gaming Report launch! Historic Quarter with 50 M&A Deals Including EA’s $55B Leveraged Buyout
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09 Oct 2025
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EA’s announced $55B acquisition by the Saudi Arabia’s PIF / Silver Lake consortium made history as the largest ever leveraged buyout. Gaming M&A activity hit a yearly high, private financings picked up for the first time in 6 quarters, and top Western gaming stocks are on fire, driving the Drake Star Index well past the S&P 500.
The Drake Star Global Gaming Report Q3 2025 analyzes Gaming and Esports dealmaking in the third quarter of 2025 and outlines what to expect for 2026 and beyond. Highlights include:
- Gaming M&A activity increased to 50 deals in Q3’25, the highest count in four quarters! Notable transactions included Aonic’s $250M acquisition of Prime Insights, KRAFTON’s $96M purchase of Eleventh Hour Games and DoubleDown’s $76M deal for WHOW Games.
- Q3’25 saw a recovery with 115 private financing rounds, the first increase since Q1’24. Notable rounds included Lingokids ($120M), Good Job Games ($60M) and Appcharge ($58M). Financings for mobile studios surged in Q3, with five of the largest rounds going to mobile developers.
- Most active investors over the past year included BITKRAFT, Play Ventures, and Griffin Gaming Partners among larger funds, while Impact46, 1AM Gaming, and 1UP Ventures were the leading seed-stage investors. On the strategic side, Tencent, KRAFTON, and Smilegate drove the most activity, while Animoca, Spartan, and Arbitrum Gaming Ventures were the most active players in blockchain gaming.
- Western public gaming equities performed exceptionally well in Q3’25, with the Drake Star Western Gaming Index up 31.3% for the year. Top performers included Roblox (+136.9%), Unity (+77.9%), and everplay (+75.0%). The broader Drake Star Index, tracking the top 35 global public gaming companies, is up 23.7% YTD, far outperforming the S&P 500’s 14.3% gain.
- Light & Wonder, including its social casino arm SciPlay, announced the pricing of $1B in new debt financing. Azerion Group issued $260M in new bonds, while Turtle Beach secured a $150M senior credit facility.
Outlook
- The rebound in public gaming equities is paving the way for a surge in gaming M&A through 2026, as strategics are seizing the opportunity to capitalize on higher valuations and fuel bold inorganic growth to sustain investor momentum.
- PE momentum in gaming shows no signs of slowing, with major funds eyeing public gaming companies for take-privates and top private studios becoming prime acquisition targets for growth-focused investors. With the resurgence of growth financing for mobile game studios in Q3’25, we are optimistic that funding activity across the gaming sector will continue gaining momentum in the coming quarters. AI and tools continue to be hot sectors.
- We expect Coffee Stain Group to complete its IPO following the spin-off from Embracer by year-end and remain optimistic about the prospects for a strong Discord listing in 2026.
Download the full report below.
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Enquiries
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For further enquiries, please contact:
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Michael Metzger
Managing Partner
Digital Media
FinTech
Los Angeles
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Julian Riedlbauer
Partner
Digital Media
Digital Services
FinTech
Software/SaaS
Industrial Tech
Berlin
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Mohit Pareek
Partner
Digital Media
FinTech
Los Angeles
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