Democratic lawmakers have introduced a new bill prohibiting antitrust mergers. It would allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to block M&A deals worth $5 billion or more.

Hero Wars creator Nexters has made its first M&A deals since going public. The company acquired three Russian-founded mobile studios in deals worth $100 million.

Embracer Group has acquired Beijing-based mobile studio Jufeng to further expand into the Chinese games market. The Swedish holding company also bought eight mobile games to expand its portfolio.

MY.GAMES Venture Capital, the investment arm of MY.GAMES, has invested in three studios: VOX, Tworogue Games, and Wideview Games. The total investments in the three studios amounted to around $3 million. In all three deals, MGVC acquired minority stakes in the studios with options to purchase control later.

Unprecedented consolidation of the games market continues. According to the latest report by Drake Star Partners, game companies have already raised $71 billion in 844 deals so far this year, which is double the full dollar amount from 2020.

Sketchfab, a platform for selling and sharing 3D assets, has joined the Epic Games family. The company will now reduce its store fees and make some of its features free. The terms of the deal, however, remain undisclosed.

Soon after announcing the $1.27 billion Sumo Group deal, Tencent has revealed another investment. The Chinese tech giant became a major shareholder of Stunlock Studios, a Swedish indie company known for its popular arena brawler Battlerite.

Berlin studio Yager has received new investment from Tencent. Now the Chinese company owns a major stake in the developer of Spec Ops: The Line and The Cycle.

In 2021, video game companies have set a new record in terms of M&A and investment deals. Their total value has already reached almost $50 billion.

According to Niko Partners, in 2021, Tencent has already closed over 50 deals by May. It makes the Chinese company the absolute leader in the gaming investment market. But what makes it act so actively?

Square Enix is not up for sale despite Bloomberg Japan having reported that there was interest from several buyers to acquire the company.

ByteDance is now expanding its game development division. The Chinese tech giant has just acquired mobile studio Moonton, developers of popular MOBA Mobile Legends, for an undisclosed sum.

Publisher Zynga follows its ambitions of developing games for PC and consoles. To bring its existing franchises outside the mobile sector, the company has just bought Echtra Games, creators of Torchlight III.