Apple Backs Out of Talks to Purchase Game Studio Electronic Arts, Amazon Reportedly Set to Make Offer Instead [Updated]

Apple has backed out of a potential purchase of the game studio Electronic Arts (EA) following talks that have been ongoing since as early as May of this year, with Amazon instead poised to make an offer, according to a report from USA Today vertical ForTheWin.

EA Apple Maybe Feature
Over the last couple of months, EA has been speaking to several companies with potential interest in the acquisition, including Apple, Amazon, and Disney. Apple has had a renewed interest in the gaming market ever since the launch of Apple Arcade, the company's subscription-based gaming service that offers exclusive games with no in-app purchases and ads.

A purchase of EA by Apple would give the Cupertino tech-giant access to hit gaming franchises that include "The Sims," "Battlefield," "Apex Legends," "SimCity," "DragonAge," "FIFA," and more.

Apple purchasing EA, which has a market value of $34 billion, would be the largest acquisition by Apple in its history. Apple's largest purchase to date is Beats, which it bought for $3 billion in 2014. During the company's last earnings call in July, CEO Tim Cook said Apple "never buys just to buy," but added that he wouldn't "rule anything out" and that Apple is "constantly surveilling the market."

Update: According to CNBC sources, the rumor that Amazon is set to purchase Electronic Arts (EA) is incorrect.

Tag: EA

Top Rated Comments

spazzcat Avatar
22 months ago

Isn’t EA the most hated of game developers? Or is that all of them?
They have ruined so many good franchises.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1557750 Avatar
22 months ago
Smart move, Apple.

EA would be a perfect match for Apple's greed!
Not really, because Apple produces quality products and services for the price.

EA is better off sharing a bed with Bezos, where you sometimes get the quality products you think you’re purchasing.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Born2Run Avatar
22 months ago
Apple was set to buy Electronic Arts, but couldn't afford all the microtransactions they would have to pay afterwards!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eriamjh1138@DAN Avatar
22 months ago
Isn’t EA the most hated of game developers? Or is that all of them?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TVreporter Avatar
22 months ago
“If it’s in the game, it’s in the game” …became…

“If you frequently use our micro-transactions, it might be in the game.”


Brand recognition sure but EA has fallen over the years.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Porco Avatar
22 months ago
My cat is rumoured to be going to buy Electronic Arts (EA)!

Update: according to myself, the rumour my cat is going to buy Electronic Arts (EA) is incorrect.

Also, I don’t even own a cat.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Silicon AI Optimized Feature Siri

Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device

Wednesday April 24, 2024 3:39 pm PDT by
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature

iOS 18 Rumored to Add These 10 New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday April 24, 2024 2:05 pm PDT by
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....