The evolution of gaming over the past years featured drastic changes in business models, platforms, game mechanics, marketing, and content. The majority of games now has highly competitive modes, is multi-player and, most importantly, is run as a continuous service instead of developed as a product. Because of these changes, the market is more aligned on a truly global scale. Chinese powerhouse Tencent and U.S.-based Activision Blizzard lead large-scale consolidation within the games market and are heavily investing in areas adjacent to games. Both companies refer to themselves as entertainment companies, reflecting their ambitions outside of games. We foresee that the coming years will bring a wave of new mergers and acquisitions involving the world’s largest telecom, media, sports, and entertainment companies. They are all after content that engages a hard-to-reach but valuable audience.
