Early on Friday morning, it seemed like the video game world was once again going to have a huge shakeup. A report from GLHF through USA Today stated that Amazon was in the process of putting in an offer to buy Apex Legends, The Sims, and Madden publisher Electronic Arts. With so many major video game companies consolidating lately, it felt like a move that was going to have an impact similar to when Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard.
As the rumor circulated online, stock for EA shot up while everyone waited for an announcement about the purchase taking place. Then, CNBC’s David Faber he went on TV and emphatically stated that Amazon would not be purchasing the video game giant. Afterward, the original report from USA Today was updated with that information, while Amazon and EA both gave a no comment to Kotaku about a potential purchase.
Amazon is not going to make a bid for Electronic Arts, sources tell CNBC’s @DavidFaber. Shares of $EA surged earlier on a report citing a “rumor.” pic.twitter.com/k7wk0Fy7xv
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 26, 2022
Later, USA Today put a statement in the original report stating that their content partner who ran the story, GLHF, had violated their editorial standards for “unnamed and unvetted sources.”
In a new update, USA Today throws GLHF under the bus. Wow! pic.twitter.com/0eArkVWBms
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) August 26, 2022
Obviously, a sale like this would have changed the industry forever, with EA being one of the biggest publishers in all of gaming while giving Amazon a major foothold in an industry it has so far struggled to break into. It is worth wondering if EA ever will sell, though, after rumors last May popped up that it was shopping itself to major companies like Apple and Disney. But for now, it looks like Amazon is off the board as a buyer.