Electronic Arts announced Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Playdemic, the maker of the popular mobile game Golf Clash, from Warner Bros. Games for $1.4 billion in cash. The deal marks EA's second major mobile acquisition in six months, following its decision in February to acquire Glu Mobile for $2.1 billion.
The deal should benefit both companies, though in vastly different ways. EA, more traditionally a maker of console and PC games, is looking to expand its mobile portfolio as more and more of the game industry's growth comes from smartphones. Golf Clash, in that respect, is a popular mobile game with more than 80 million downloads and a competitive online element with high player retention and in-game spending.
Warner Bros., on other hand, is looking to find new homes for some of its media properties to shore up cash now that its parent company, WarnerMedia, is being spun out of AT&T and merged with Discovery. There has been some speculation as to what will happen to Warner Bros.'s game division during the merger, considering AT&T said it was interested in selling off the unit as early as last September. Following the merger announcement, the company told IGN that some, but perhaps not all, of the internal studios might be sold off in the transition to Warner Bros. Discovery, though it was not certain.
However, the press release announcing the Playdemic sale says, "The remaining Warner Bros. Games portfolio is included in the recently announced WarnerMedia-Discovery transaction and will become part of the combined media and entertainment company after the expected close of that transaction."
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE