In Q1 of 2021, mergers and acquisitions deals have nearly doubled year-over-year with investment in the space up a whopping 75%.
While 2020 was a record breaking year for the industry, 2021 is well on its way to surpassing it.
According to DDM’s Q1 Game Investment Review Report so far this year (Q1), the industry has seen investment totaling $18.7 billion, including IPO’s. The report also details over $10.5 billion in mergers and acquisitions.
The DDM’s report identifies and details 139 gaming investments, showing a 75% increase (YOY) from 2020. DDM highlights a doubling in M&A deals from the same quarter last year.
No matter how you look at it, deals and investment in the video gaming space are breaking records, with many sharp investors now investigating the space for more opportunity.
While the $18.7 billion in investment (including big IPO’s like Roblox) is impressive, a large share of the total investment dollars have gone to mergers and acquisition deals.
Large gaming companies are discovering smaller publishers and developers with breakthrough concepts and are gobbling them up. Not necessarily because of their download totals or user bases, but because smaller publishers and developers with unique technologies and patents offer the big companies a shortcut to growth.
Rather than using internal development, many of the large companies have found the best, most efficient path to revenue growth and expanded market share is via M&A.
Now, finding and investing in smaller publishers with patented technology BEFORE any M&A activities occur is the key to investment success in 2021 and beyond.
Read more about Q1 investment activity HERE