The past few years have seen massive video game company acquisitions, with some of the biggest being Microsoft's successful acquisition of Bethesda and its studios, and its pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts has long been rumored to be next in line, with reports that Microsoft, Sony, or even Disney have been interested in acquiring it. However, the latest rumors suggest that Amazon was interested in acquiring the company, though it's unclear at this point exactly what is going on.

Early in the morning on August 26, USA Today published a report claiming that Amazon was going to announce its intention to acquire Electronic Arts later today, causing EA's stock price to surge and hit a pre-market peak of $146.76. It has since come down to around $132.93 at the time of this writing. However, CNBC later stepped in to say that wasn't the case, and the stock price has started coming down. Neither Amazon nor EA have commented on the situation.

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Regardless, if the deal ever actually happens, Amazon acquiring EA would be one of the biggest acquisitions in history, with potentially massive ramifications across the entertainment industry. Such an acquisition would certainly give Amazon a stronger foothold in the video game industry, allowing the company to break into the console gaming market in a way that it never has been able to before. Beyond that, Amazon would suddenly have access to EA's huge library of IPs, which could mean a lot beyond the gaming space.

Amazon is one of the world's biggest streaming giants, with Amazon Prime Video available to those signed up to the company's Prime subscription service. Amazon has aggressively supported Prime Video with original content, releasing hits like The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and most recently, the critically-acclaimed TV adaptation of A League of Their Own. Come September 1, Amazon Prime Video will release the premiere episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is said to be one of the most expensive television series ever made.

Amazon acquiring EA would give the company plenty more material to mine for potential TV shows or movies, with prime candidates like Dead Space, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect all coming to mind. So even though these rumors turned out to be inaccurate, it seems like Amazon acquiring EA would potentially be a smart move for the company in the long run.

If Amazon ever did acquire EA, it would just be the latest acquisition by the online retail giant. Earlier this year, Amazon acquired MGM Studios, and years ago, it acquired the Twitch streaming service, with the latter acquisition having an immeasurable impact on the industry. It's likely that Amazon acquiring EA would send similar shock waves throughout the gaming world, though it's unclear if it will ever actually happen.

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Source: CNBC, USA Today