Unlisted Gaming Companies in Asia – The Acquisition Landscape Heats Up

With Microsoft making a big splash acquiring Zenimax Media for $7.5bn last September and Sony rumoured to have been interested in acquiring Leyou Games prior to its agreement with serial acquirer Tencent, it is clear that the war for IP is well underway. With many acquisitions having already taken place in Europe and the US over the last decade however, perhaps it is time to examine the landscape in Asia to identify both potential acquisition targets that could sway the competitive balance amongst the console and mobile giants as well as fast growing unlisted players in the mobile space who are aiming to establish themselves as genuine rivals to the likes of Tencent and Netease.

What’s Original?

Perusing through Asia’s unlisted gaming companies, we profile a variety of companies from China, Japan, Korea and ASEAN, highlighting companies to watch for a variety reasons. Some are threatening Tencent’s dominance in China while expanding overseas to also encroach on the mobile game earnings of foreign players, some are helping PC and console game makers manage escalating development costs from increasing graphical fidelity while others specialise in remastering old hit titles to provide publishers an easy way to monetise past successes and their IP library. We also examine the connection of gaming to anime and the ways in which both incumbents and challengers are exploiting this link to enhance their competitiveness.