Senior executives at Disney are reportedly pushing CEO Bob Iger to explore the possibility of turning the company from a gaming licensee into a gaming giant. The new report claims that Iger’s deputies are urging him to consider acquiring the major gaming publisher Electronic Arts as a first step. EA Games already publishes several Star Wars titles and franchises, so it would seem like a natural fit.
Bloomberg’s recent report explored the current state of Disney, which is apparently having a bit of trouble simply licensing its IPs out to gaming companies. Senior executives want to motivate Iger into making some serious acquisitions including EA for a bigger push into the gaming market. This follows a report from earlier this month that claimed Marvel Studios might also be shifting its priorities to video games as its gaming division is “painfully aware of how their video games division hasn’t been reaching its potential overall.”
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As of writing, the Bloomberg article has been taken down for unknown reasons though some believe that Disney intervened, giving the report a bit of credibility.
Acquisitions in the gaming industry really kicked into high gear this generation with Microsoft apparently going forward with its historic $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard – the deal is expected to be finalised as soon as this week. This follows Microsoft’s acquisition of The Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax which led to Starfield and future titles becoming exclusive to Xbox and PC. Meanwhile, Sony also made some acquisitions on a smaller scale by buying out companies like Bluepoint and Bungie, among others.
As for Disney acquiring EA, it’s unknown if Iger will change his mind and actually go ahead with it. Many fans feel like the Star Wars IP shouldn’t be locked in EA’s court and allow other developers to have a shot at making new Star Wars games.
Source: Bloomberg (via Video Games Chronicle)
