Weekly News Digest #2
# of announced deals
7
announced deals’ size
$3B
# of closed deals
7
Hi everyone,
We are currently working hard on the upcoming 2024 Global Gaming Deals Report and will be glad to share it with you soon.
In the meantime, don’t miss the “Notable Transactions” section below for a roundup of the last week’ notable deals.
We thank MY.GAMES for supporting this digest.
| NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS |
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
UPDATE: Japan-based corporation Sony Interactive Entertainment (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SONY) has completed an agreement of purchasing 12 million new shares of Japan-based multimedia company Kadokawa Corporation $318.5m.
A group of former game developers from US-based Annapurna Interactive has acquired the gaming portfolio of US-based PC & Console games publisher Private Division for an undisclosed sum. The portfolio includes Kerbal Space Program title from Haveli Investments, Tales of the Shire, and the publishing rights for an unannounced title by Game Freak. This transaction follows the sale of the Private Division by Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) in Nov’24.
VENTURE FINANCING
US-based metaverse, XR, and web3 company Infinite Reality has raised $3B in a funding round from an undisclosed investor focused on global tech and real estate. This latest round increases the company’s valuation to $12.3B. The funds will support Infinite Reality’s product development, including its no-code immersive SaaS platform iR Studio, collaborations, and M&A activities. An active acquirer, the company has spent over $1B on acquisitions in recent years. The full list of deals is available on our Patreon.
Turkey-based mobile games developer Grand Games has secured $30m in a Series A funding round led by Balderton, with participation from Bek Ventures, Laton Ventures, and angel investors. The funds will establish new studios and develop additional titles. Grand Games raised $3m in a pre-Seed funding round in Jul’24. Founded in 2024, the studio has created two casual mobile games: Magic Sort! and Car Match.
Australia-based web3 gaming software company ZKcandy has raised $4m in a funding round led by Wemix, with participation from Animoca Ventures, Spartan Group, Perlone Capital, Presto Labs, Flowdesk, Prometheuz, Lecca Ventures, and Efficient Frontier. The funds will further develop ZKcandy’s ecosystem and expand its Telegram-based EVM gaming platform. ZKcandy specializes in helping developers bring their games to market by scaling Ethereum technology and has already launched eight titles in the web3 gaming space.
US-based user-generated content platform Rooms has raised $1m in a funding round from Google through a SAFE, granting Google the option to participate in the company’s next Series A round. Rooms will gain early access to Google’s Gemini AI as part of the deal. Founded by former Google employees, Rooms previously secured $10m in May’23. The platform enables users to create vertical mini 3D spaces and is available on browsers and iOS. Despite a lack of monetization, Rooms reached 250,000 users in Q2’24.
Poland-based games developer Wonder Legends Studio has raised $1m in a pre-Seed funding round led by SMOK Ventures. The funds will support two projects currently in development: a game prototype and pre-production work on an animated series. Both projects, built on Unreal Engine 5, are set in a steampunk and Greek mythology-inspired setting and have been in development since 2019 and are set for release between late 2027 and early 2028. In addition to the funding, Wonder Legends Studios received an Epic MegaGrant.
PUBLIC OFFERINGS
China-based augmented reality (AR) entertainment company Blue Hat Interactive (NASDAQ: BHAT) has secured $3.9m (before fees and expenses) via securities purchase agreements with undisclosed institutional investors. The deal involves the sale of 56 million shares at $0.07 per share. The proceeds will support the company’s operations and growth. At the time of the transaction, Blue Hat Interactive’s market capitalization stood at $6.7m.
