Boosting Mobile Game Growth, EA Acquires Glu for IDR 33.6 Trillion

GAMEFINITY.ID, Jakarta – Electronic Arts (EA) announced that it has acquired game studio Glu Mobile. This acquisition paved the way for the game developer, publisher and distributor to boost the growth of the mobile game business.

For the acquisition of Glu, EA reportedly needs to spend 2.4 billion USD, or around Rp. 33.6 trillion, as well as being the largest acquisition figure for a mobile game studio company. The acquisition process is expected to be completed by the end of June. The value

Glu Mobile is the developer of a number of successful mobile games, such as Diner Dash, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, to MLB Tap Sports Baseball. According to EA’s Chief Executive, Andrew Wilson, this acquisition is EA’s response to take advantage of opportunities for the rapid growth of the mobile gaming platform. Currently, EA is already leading the market for sports games with FIFA and the NFL.

“The Glu acquisition combines an outstanding team with proven expertise across multiple genres and creates a very compelling product to lead the fast-growing mobile gaming market.”

In his explanation, after the acquisition process is complete, Glu Mobile will still work independently. However, according to Glu Mobile will be able to take advantage of the intellectual property (IP) owned by EA. including copyrights, patents and trademarks.

“This agreement is the culmination of the extraordinary work of the Glu team to bring a world-class interactive experience to our players. As part of Electronic Arts, we will continue to take advantage of future opportunities in the evolving mobile gaming industry,” said Nick Earl, CEO of Glu Mobile.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, this deal made Glu’s share price rise 34 percent to 12.56 US dollars per share earlier this week. Glu Mobile also announced a 25 percent increase in revenue in the fourth quarter (Q4) compared to the same period last year.

Glu Mobile is a mobile game studio based in San Mateo, California. The game studio, which was founded in 2001 under the name Cyent Studios, now has around 800 employees. Glu Mobile shares began listing on the stock exchange in 2007, with Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings being Glu’s largest shareholder with around 15 percent of the total since 2021.

While EA is not only famous for sports-themed games, it is also known for mobile games such as Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, to the simulation game The Sims Mobile. However, the growth of EA’s mobile games is considered not optimal.

EA is also targeting a two-fold growth in the number of EA sports game players over the next five years. One of the efforts is to acquire game studio Codemasters, the developer of the racing games F1 and Dirt, for 1.2 billion USD (around Rp. 17 trillion) last December.

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