It Takes Two: What the Acquisition Deal Between Take -Two and Zynga Means for Mobile Gaming

Take-Two Interactive announced its acquisition of mobile gaming heavyweight Zynga this past Monday. The developer sold for just shy of $11 billion, although the companies allege the deal is worth an estimate of $12.7 billion in enterprise value.  

Now, this is an obvious change of pace for Zynga which had only just wrapped up its nearly decade-long shopping spree across the casual and hypercasual, mobile gaming industry. It was only a couple of months ago that us at InMobi directed your attention to High! Heels!, a highly popular mobile game developed by the recently Zynga-acquired Rollic Games.  

Why Does Take-Two Want Zynga? 

Now, one may ask: what do the makers behind Grand Theft Auto want with the hypercasual, mobile gaming conglomerate that gave us FarmVille? Often, the mobile and video game industries can at times feel diametrically opposed despite their many overlaps.  

Mobile gaming publishers are still fighting for recognition in big time gaming ceremonies despite mobile gaming apps securing an upwards of $91 billion in revenue in 2021 alone. With people on their phones now more than ever, and with phones becoming the first screen for many, it makes sense that Take-Two landed its eyes on Zynga.  

Beyond clear economic incentive, mobile games have the same elements of community and social fervor as a Fortnite, Minecraft, God of War and yes, GTA. With the hyperconnected capabilities of mobile devices paired with social media, Twitch, Discord and the like, for many the Venn diagram depicting video/PC vs mobile games is ultimately a circle.  

What This News Means for the Future of Mobile Gaming 

 Another site of skepticism is the myth that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) changes are ruining the hypercasual business model. While only time will tell if that’s ultimately true, Take-Two's $11 billion investment in the hypercasual gaming space is telling of the industry’s longevity. That is what we should all be taking away from this news.  

With Web 3 on the horizon and the metaverse at our shores, no one knows where the gaming industry is headed. Will gaming continue to be thought of as a more tactile sport filled with separate consoles, monitors and a sequence of combination moves? Or will it go full immersion mode and enter the ether of the metaverse? And where do our mobile devices and our app -store games fit in all of this? The jury is still out.  

To learn more about InMobi’s perspective on all this, be sure to click around our site and be on the lookout for more gaming content coming your way.