What had been the massive offers of 2022? Of the transactions included within the DDM’s full report, among the largest had been Take-Two Interactive’s $12.7 billion buy of Farmville developer Zynga, Unity’s $4.4 billion merger with monetization and distribution app firm ironsource, and Sony’s $3.6 billion buy of Future 2 dev Bungie.

The place did the business expertise issues final yr? 2022’s totals might have been even higher the report argues, however the main falloff within the crypto market, excessive rates of interest, inflation, and issues a few attainable recession had some buyers feeling cautious.

What about subsequent yr? DDM’s optimistic outlook for 2023 hinges to a serious diploma on the results of Microsoft’s hopeful acquisition of gaming big Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. That may be the largest gaming deal in historical past and would beat most years’ cumulative funding and M&A totals all by itself.

Is the results of that merger in query? The acquisition appears to be like removed from a certain factor at this level. Within the U.S., the Federal Commerce Fee sued to forestall the deal. Within the U.Ok., the Competitors and Markets Authority claimed that the deal would threaten competitors within the gaming market and be unhealthy for players. Different European governments are additionally skeptical in regards to the deal, and it appears to be like like there might be an extended method to go earlier than any decision is discovered.

“Nonetheless, DDM believes 2023 is shaping to be one other good yr for gaming investments, acquisitions, and IPOs, however business development shall be hampered till macroeconomic pressures ease,” claims the report.