Mobile gaming witnessed one of its biggest acquisition deals when Saudi Arabia’s Scopley announced this week that it was buying augmented reality gaming company Niantic for $3.5 billion. The deal includes ownership of successful titles Pokemon Go and Pikmin Bloom, as well as the use and sale of its innovative AR technology.
In addition to acquiring Niantic’s games, the deal includes the company’s non-gaming apps Campfire and Wayfarer. For Scopely and Saudi Arabia, Niantic represents the future of mobile gaming, one that relies on innovation and augmented reality. The deal is the 10th biggest acquisition in gaming history.
Here, we look at the other nine deals and assess how successful they were for the gaming industry.
9. Sony acquires Bungie, 2022
The studio behind the Halo franchise and Destiny was bought by Sony Interactive Entertainment for $3.7 billion in 2022. After being acquired by Microsoft in 2000, Bungie had become independent again in 2007. Despite Bungie now being owned by Sony, Microsoft still holds the exclusive rights to the Halo games series.
Plan: Sony would help Bungie to hire and retain developers to expand the Destiny franchise, Bungie would help Sony make more live-service games.
Result: The acquisition has not gone completely to plan. Bungie, which had hoped it would not lose any of its 1,600 employees, now has a workforce half that size, with 750 employees. The Destiny franchise has also waned in popularity and relevance.
8. ByteDance acquires Moonton, 2021
Chinese tech giant ByteDance, owner of TikTok and CapCut, purchased gaming developer Moonton in 2021 for $4 billion. Founded in 2014, the Chinese mobile game developer has produced titles such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Watcher of Realms.
Plan: ByteDance grows its mobile gaming investments.
Result: Moonton’s acquisition was first considered by Tencent, but it was beaten by ByteDance. Moonton has only grown since the acquisition. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, its most successful game, is popular around the world and is part of prestigious tournaments, including the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
7. Savvy Games Group acquires Scopely, 2023
A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Savvy Games Group acquired Scopely in 2023 for $4.9 billion. The developer of Monopoly Go, Star Trek Field Command and WWE Champions is one of the biggest developers in mobile gaming.
Plan: Expand the kingdom’s gaming investment portfolio.
Result: Scopely, with the support of Savvy, has grown and produces more games than it did before the acquisition. Because of this, it was able to purchase Niantic and potentially corner the market for augmented-reality innovation in mobile gaming.
6. Activision Blizzard acquires King, 2016
The Swedish studio behind the global phenomenon mobile game Candy Crush was acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2016 for $5.9 billion. King has been a dominant presence in mobile gaming with its many spin-offs of Candy Crush, as well as branching out with titles such as Farm Heroes Super Saga.
Plan: Expand Activision Blizzard’s user count and acquire King’s more than 500 million users.
Result: While Activision Blizzard has made use of the deal, King has contracted and shut some of its global offices, laying off employees.
5. Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media, 2021
The holding company that owns gaming studios Bethesda, id Software, Arkane studios and MachineGames was acquired by Microsoft in 2021 for $8.1 billion. ZeniMax Media owns prestigious gaming titles such as Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Dishonored and Wolfenstein.
Plan: Expand Xbox’s library and give the console more first-day exclusives.
Result: Xbox has benefited from some exclusivity on these games, but it has become clear that it would benefit more from sharing these titles with Sony and reaping the sales rewards.
4. Tencent acquires Supercell, 2016
Finnish studio Supercell, developer of Clash of Clans, sold a controlling stake of 81 per cent to China’s Tencent in 2016 for $8.6 billion. The developer also produced popular titles such as Clash Royale, Brawl Stars and Squad Busters.
Plan: Invest in Clash of Clans while growing Tencent’s gaming portfolio.
Result: Clash of Clans remains one of the most profitable mobile games, making more than $1 billion in yearly revenue. It is one of the few mobile games to have surpassed 500 million downloads on iOS and Android.
3. Take-Two Interactive acquires Zynga, 2022
The developer behind Facebook game Farmville and mobile game Words with Friends was acquired by Take-Two Interactive, the owner of Grand Theft Auto’s Rockstar, for $12.7 billion in 2022. Zynga has also produced titles such as Cafe World, Looney Tunes Dash and Game of Thrones Legends.
Plan: Portfolio expansion deal for profit.
Result: Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga is primarily to grow the company’s mobile game output. According to Take-Two, approximately 10 per cent of the world’s population play a Zynga game, showing just how spread out and successful the company is.
2. Activision acquires Vivendi Games, 2008
The holding company that owned Sierra Entertainment, Universal Interactive and Blizzard Entertainment, Vivendi Games, was acquired by Activision in 2008 for $18.9 billion, approximately $27.6 billion adjusted for inflation.
Plan: Activision takes ownership of multiple successful game series, including Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.
Result: Activision has since become Activision Blizzard, under which global hits such as the Call of Duty, Warcraft and Crash Bandicoot are housed. The company took in more than $7 billion in revenue in 2022, making it one of the most profitable.
1. Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard, 2023
In 2023, after clearing many hurdles, Activision Blizzard was sold to Microsoft for $75.4 billion, making it the biggest video game company acquisition. Much like it did with ZeniMax in 2021, Microsoft expanded its portfolio for the Xbox with the purchase of Activision Blizzard.
Plan: Create compelling exclusive games for the Xbox while sharing other games with Sony
Result: As video game titles become harder to create, successful ones become a valuable commodity for consoles to own. Sony has titles such as The Last of Us, Uncharted and Ghost of Tsushima. Xbox will seek to create a new line-up with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENever%20click%20on%20links%20provided%20via%20app%20or%20SMS%2C%20even%20if%20they%20seem%20to%20come%20from%20authorised%20senders%20at%20first%20glance%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAlways%20double-check%20the%20authenticity%20of%20websites%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEnable%20Two-Factor%20Authentication%20(2FA)%20for%20all%20your%20working%20and%20personal%20services%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOnly%20use%20official%20links%20published%20by%20the%20respective%20entity%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDouble-check%20the%20web%20addresses%20to%20reduce%20exposure%20to%20fake%20sites%20created%20with%20domain%20names%20containing%20spelling%20errors%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206-cylinder%203-litre%2C%20with%20petrol%20and%20diesel%20variants%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20286hp%20(petrol)%2C%20249hp%20(diesel)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E450Nm%20(petrol)%2C%20550Nm%20(diesel)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EStarting%20at%20%2469%2C800%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Aryan%20Lakra%2C%20Ashwanth%20Valthapa%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20CP%20Rizwaan%2C%20Hazrat%20Billal%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%20and%20Zawar%20Farid.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
