A series of reports has indicated that Apple is possibly backing out of the idea of acquiring game studio Electronic Arts (EA). The move follows months of what may have been negotiations between the two companies since May of this year.
Additional rumors cite that Amazon may be looking to purchase EA, although reportage by CNBC has indicated that this dead may also be dead in the water.
Previous reports had indicated that Apple was slated to announce an intent to put in a formal offer to purchase Electronic Arts. This now seems unlikely, as EA has been shopping themselves around to several companies for months now. The company has been said to have gone to Apple, Amazon, and Disney, to gauge interest in an acquisition. While Apple is said to have had some interest, this appears to have passed.
CNBC confirmed that Amazon looking to acquire EA is also untrue.
With the launch of Apple Arcade, the company’s subscription-based gaming service, Apple has been taking a new interest in the gaming market. Additionally, the new macOS Ventura is looking to expand its lineup of games in thanks to the gaming software Metal 3. During the WWDC event way back in June, Apple announced No Man’s Sky, GRID Legends, and Capcom’s Resident Evil: Village arriving to Mac.
Apple’s acquisition of EA would have given the company access to a massive library of games and franchises. Should Apple acquire the gaming company, it would have access to The Sims, Battlefield, Apex Legends, SimCity, DragonAge, FIFA and more.
This would have also been one of the largest purchases by Apple, with EA having a market value of $34 billion. The closest Apple has come to that would be the purchase of Beats for $3 billion in 2014.
Back in July during the company’s earnings call, CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple “never buys just to buy”.
In terms of Apple acquiring EA, it may just not be the right time. With Apple having an a new interest in gaming, going after one of the largest video game producers may be overkill at this stage. Considering EA also casts its web across virtually all gaming platforms, Apple may also not want to play nice with Sony, Nintendo and of course Microsoft.
At the same time, EA does also have a notorious reputation for micro transactions, with a former EA CEO John Riccitiello referring to developers who don’t implement micro transactions as “the biggest f*cking idiots”.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via The Mac Observer, Dexerto, USA Today, and CNBC