Electronic Arts’ proposed $2.1 billion acquisition of Glu Mobile underscores that mobile gaming, spurred by the ubiquitous smartphone, is fast becoming the platform of choice for connecting consumers.

With a mix of free-to-play (supported by ad revenue) and in-game purchases, global mobile gaming revenue rose more than 37.9% to $86 billion last year, surpassing games for consoles ($51.2 billion) and PCs ($37.4 billion), according the research firm New Zoo. And that’s despite many consumers being confined to homes where consoles and PCs are as common as furniture.

Adding MLB and the Kardashians
From Electronic Arts’ standpoint, the acquisition adds licensed Major League Baseball and Kim Kardashian titles and a company focused purely on mobile games that operates 15 “live” services across its titles.

The acquisition will double EA’s mobile-related revenue as the company “aggressively” expands its EA Sports label, which already is home to NFL, FIFA, NHL, UFC and the recently acquired (via buying Codemasters) Formula One titles, CEO Andrew Wilson told analysts recently. For example, EA will release six new versions of its FIFA title this year with an emphasis on local and regional players, teams and leagues including recent entries into Poland, Russia and Turkey.

Fastest growing platform
“We have a long history in mobile and it is the fastest growing platform on the planet,” Wilson told CNBC.  “As we come through COVID, games have become an even more important part in people’s lives and social interaction is moving from physical to digital.  For us the opportunity is to entertain hundreds of millions of players globally and what we see among our Gen Z players is a big part of that is interacting with things that you love and sharing with your friends. Digital is a more important part of their lives in terms of how they access games.”

EA isn’t alone in expanding its mobile games business:

• Take-Two Interactive raised its forecast for the fourth quarter ending March 31 to $725 million from $675 million, partly driven by its NBA 2K21 console and mobile title which has sold eight million units since launch in November, CEO Strauss Zelnick told analysts in releasing earnings on Monday. Take-Two has sharpened its focus on mobile since acquiring mobile game developers Social Point and Playdots. It is readying mobile-only games in addition to releasing mobile versions of its “core” franchises (Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption and others).
• EA’s upcoming licensed college football title –after an eight-year absence — will be in console and mobile versions that will include about 100 schools, but won’t portray player names and likenesses, Wilson “The game has always been built on the power of the relationship that fans have with their colleges,” says Wilson. “We believe that we can build a really compelling college football game with all of those components in partnership with schools across the country.” There’s still an ongoing legal battle over collegiate players’ right to be compensated for their NIL (name, image and likeness) rights.
• Hasbro has “clear growth plans” for digital and mobile “for the coming years,” part of it built around the company’s Wizards of the Coast franchise, which released the “Magic the Gathering: Arena” multi-player title and is readying others, says CEO Brian Goldner. The game has gained 2-3 million players and generates about $150 million in annual revenue, an amount that potentially could double within five years, says Stephanie Wissink, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. The company’s digital gaming revenue was “up quite considerably” during the past year, partly driven by licensed titles including developer Scopely’s Yahtzee with Buddies mobile title.