EXCLUSIVE – After “record-breaking layoffs, closures and business turmoil” in the first half of 2024, the video game industry is showing signs of recovery, according to a new report from DDM Games.
I broke my PS5 controller because of my stepsister #shorts
DDM, short for Digital Development Management, is an agency that provides representation, advisory and investment services and regularly conducts research into the sector.
Each of the first two quarters of the year has surpassed $2.3 billion in investments, a stark contrast to 2023, when no quarter surpassed $1.3 billion. The first-half tally of $8.1 billion from 488 investment transactions brings the total to a two-year high and has already surpassed the 2023 annual total of $4.5 billion. (See chart below.) The first half was helped by investments like Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Fortnite maker Epic Games and GameStop’s $2.1 billion stock sale following a surge in meme stocks, DDM noted.
Despite the report’s rebound, concerns about the low level of M&A activity surfaced. The $2.9 billion total in the first half of 2023, spread across 82 deals, was down 61% in value and 5% in volume over the same period in 2023. (The decline came even without factoring in Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.)
