The Rise of M&A in Digital Advertising for Gaming
- hattie898
- Jan 9
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 7
How Strategic Acquisitions Are Shaping the Future of In-Game Advertising
The gaming industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, with projections indicating it could be worth over $320 billion by 2026 (PWC).
The industry has become a powerhouse for digital advertising, with brands eager to engage audiences through immersive in-game experiences. As advertisers look to integrate seamlessly into games, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in digital advertising for gaming are increasing.
Why Gaming Advertising is Driving M&A Activity
The Explosion of In-Game Advertising
Gaming offers brands access to a highly engaged audience, with over 3.3 billion gamers worldwide.
As traditional digital advertising struggles with ad blockers and cookie deprecation, in-game advertising provides a compelling alternative:
Native ad placements within virtual environments
Branded integrations in live-service games
Programmatic advertising tailored for mobile and console
To capitalise on this, major media firms and ad tech companies are acquiring digital advertising specialists in gaming to expand their capabilities.
Let’s look at some of the most notable recent M&A deals shaping the gaming ad industry.
Major M&A Deals in Digital Advertising for Gaming
1. EQT Acquires Keywords Studios (2024)
🔹 Why It Matters: EQT, Temasek, and CPPIB acquired Keywords Studios for £2.2 billion, making a major bet on gaming services.
🔹 Impact on Gaming Advertising & Monetisation:
Keywords Studios provides marketing, localisation, and live-ops services to game publishers.
Strengthens its ability to help brands integrate into gaming experiences.
Expands the reach of performance-driven in-game ad campaigns.
2. Ziff Davis Acquires Gamer Network (May 2024)
🔹 Why It Matters: Ziff Davis, a global digital media firm, acquired Gamer Network, the parent company of Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, VG247, and Rock Paper Shotgun.
🔹 Impact on Gaming Advertising:
Strengthens Ziff Davis’s position in gaming media and branded content.
Expands opportunities for native advertising and brand sponsorships.
Increases its reach in B2B gaming insights (via GamesIndustry.biz), appealing to advertisers targeting game developers.
🔹 Why It Matters: Take-Two Interactive, publisher of Grand Theft Auto, acquired Zynga for $12.7 billion to strengthen its mobile gaming footprint.
🔹 Impact on Gaming Ad Tech:
Zynga previously acquired Chartboost, a programmatic ad platform for mobile gaming.
Take-Two can now monetise in-game ads more effectively across mobile and console.
Chartboost enhances ad mediation and brand partnerships, allowing better ad placement in games.
What’s Next for Gaming Ad M&A?
As in-game advertising evolves, expect more acquisitions in:
✔ Ad tech for real-time programmatic advertising
✔ Influencer & branded content agencies for gaming
✔ Companies specialising in immersive & AR/VR ad placements
With the Asia Pacific region accounting for well over half of video games and esports revenue by 2028 (PWC), expect to see a number of these M&A transactions focused on markets such as Japan, Singapore and India.
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