These past few years have seen a lot of consolidation within the video game industry. Microsoft purchased a lot of studios including Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. Sony made a big purchase with the acquisition of Bungie. Other publishers have also made a number of purchases. Embracer Group has acquired a lot of studios such as Gearbox Entertainment and most recently Crystal Dynamics, Edios Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal with plans to purchase even more. It seems like the trend is not going away anytime soon as a new report has revealed that EA is looking to join the mix and are looking for a potential sale or merger. According to Puck, EA “has been persistent in pursuing a sale.” EA has recently held talks with Disney, Apple, Amazon, and Comcast-NBC Universal.

Comcast-NBC Universal was close to being a done deal. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts allegedly proposed to spin off NBCUniversal and merge his company with EA. The report claims “the general terms of the proposal, which lawyers and bankers for both sides negotiated for several weeks, would have seen the Roberts family take majority control of the combined entity. In the configuration most seriously discussed, the company would have been run by Wilson.” Talks fell apart last month apparently due to disagreements over price and structure.

An EA spokesperson said it would not comment “on rumors and speculation relating to M&A.” A spokesperson from Comcast declined to comment.

Sources claim that EA “has been persistent” in pursuing a sale, and has “only grown more emboldened in the wake of the Microsoft-Activision deal.” The deal is worth 68.7 billion which is the largest deal of its kind in the video game industry. bOther sources claim that EA wants a merger arrangement that would allow Wilson to remain as chief executive of the combined company.

Recently, EA officially announced that it will be dropping the FIFA license and name from its annual sports title. Starting in 2023, the game will be called EA Sports FC.