2022 has been the year of acquisitions across nearly every sector of media. Today, we add yet another billion-dollar takeover as Take-Two Interactive, the giants behind both 2K and Rockstar Games, has acquired the massive mobile game company Zynga for $12.7 billion. It was announced on Thursday, May 19 that both sides had agreed to terms and the deal was officially signed today, May 23.
In the statement from Take-Two, CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick said, “as we bring together our exceptional talent, exciting pipelines of games, and industry-leading technologies and capabilities, we believe that we can take our portfolio to another level of creativity, innovation, and quality.” He would go on to tout the two companies’ strong history, making it clear that both believe this will lead to great profitability. For his part, Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau said, “We are excited for Zynga’s next-generation mobile platform, free-to-play expertise, diverse offering of games, and incredible team to join the Take-Two family.”
Take-Two is no stranger to acquisitions. It acquired the NBA 2K developer Visual Concepts in January of 2005, and more recently, in March of 2021, acquired HB Studios, makers of the game The Golf Club. That franchise was then annualized and renamed PGA Tour 2K following the acquisition.
Zynga, on the other hand, has always seemed to be a company in a state of flux. It grew to prominence thanks to Facebook games in 2009, with games like Farmville and Cityville. Since then, they have maintained a stronghold on both Facebook and mobile platforms with games like Words with Friends, Empires and Puzzles, and Zynga Poker, despite layoffs in 2013. They are also expected to globally release Star Wars Hunters sometime later this year.
