Take-Two Interactive, one of the world’s most popular game developers and publishers, has announced its intention to acquire Zynga, the world’s largest free-to-play mobile and web game maker. The move would cost a whopping $12.7 billion, breaking all world valuation and acquisition records. If completed, the move would bring together two gaming companies with two very different portfolios.
How Take-Two and Zynga can work
Take-Two, for example, is a AAA gaming company. Some of the most popular gaming titles have been the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto franchise, which continues to be popular with gamers even after many years. Another popular gaming offering includes Red Dead Redemption, making Take-Two a solid tie to the AAA gaming house that specializes in PC and console offerings.
Zynga, meanwhile, is exactly the opposite. While Farmville may be as (or even more) popular than some of Take-Two’s offerings, it’s focused on the casual gaming space. Zynga’s expertise lies in providing mobile and browser-based internet games, and Zynga’s poker offerings soared on the popularity charts long before fantasy games became a much-discussed sector.
It is this special nature that the deal is likely to aim at. If this happens, Zynga will become a portal for Take-Two to expand its console offerings in a mobile-friendly format, thus gaining access to a huge market segment where the latter is hardly represented. Following the acquisition, current Zynga CEO Frank Gibaud will reportedly lead mobile gaming operations and help Take-Two focus on mobile gaming.
No wonder Take-Two takes mobile gaming so seriously — enough to pay almost $5 billion more than Microsoft paid for Bethesda. Mobile games have become a huge source of income, with games like PUBG and Call of Duty bringing in millions of dollars in revenue every year. Mobile games also now have their own special tournaments and competitions, and if GTA comes to phones as an official, purpose-built port, one can only imagine the excitement it could cause.