Aream & Co. is a leading investment bank specializing in games and interactive entertainment. Recent deals include Loom Games ($1B+), Bluetile ($198M), and JustPlay ($289M).
The report was prepared in collaboration with InvestGame.
The number of M&A deals in Q1’26 is in line with the best quarters of the past two years. By total deal value (including the announced Moonton Games transaction) at $7.7 billion, it’s the second-largest quarter in the past two years.
IAP revenue in Q1’26 grew 1% YoY, though this figure excludes web shops. Downloads fell nearly 12% versus Q1’25. Q4’25 saw the lowest download count since early 2021.
Loom Games, Microfun, and Century Games led revenue growth in the US market in Q1’26. Of the top 12 companies, 8 are from Asia.
In the top 20 highest-grossing mobile games globally by LTM revenue (April 2025 to March 2026), Last War: Survival leads at $2.4 billion, followed by Whiteout Survival, Honor of Kings, and MONOPOLY GO! at $2 billion each, with Royal Match in fifth at $1.9 billion.
60% of the top 20 (12 games) have been on the market for more than 4 years. Only 4 titles are less than two years old: Kingshot (2025), Pokémon TCG Pocket (2024), Delta Force (2025), and Last Z: Survival Shooter (2024).
Chinese publishers lead by revenue with a wide margin ($25.6 billion over the last year, +0.6% YoY). The US is second ($10.9 billion LTM, -14% YoY), Japan third ($8.1 billion, -0.1% YoY).
The fastest-growing regions are Singapore (+22%, $4.5 billion), Turkey (+28%, $4.4 billion), and Hong Kong (+39%, $3.3 billion).
By average annual MAU, Vietnamese publishers lead (2.3 billion, +19% YoY), followed by China (2.1 billion, +16%) and the US (2 billion, +16%). Companies from Cyprus, notably, rank 4th on this metric (1.5 billion, +4%).
Rewarded platforms (Almedia, Aonic, JustPlay, BestPlay, Bluetile, Mistplay, and others) had a 58% CAGR in MAU over five years (Q1’21 to Q1’26). Publishers are increasingly using them as an alternative UA channel outside traditional ad networks.
According to Alinea Analytics, Steam’s quarterly revenue in Q1’26 reached $5.6 billion, an all-time record.
Of that total, $4.3 billion came from paid games and $1.3 billion from F2P. The five-year CAGR from Q1’21 to Q1’26 was 19% for paid games and 26% for F2P revenue.
Peak concurrent users hit 42.7 million, also a record. The five-year CAGR for this metric is 10%.
By developer revenue on Steam over the last 12 months, the US leads ($7.6 billion, +12% YoY), Japan is second ($3.3 billion, +6%), and Sweden is third ($2 billion, +73%). China ranks 7th ($0.8 billion, -37% YoY), with the decline tied to Black Myth: Wukong’s great performance last year.
According to Alinea Analytics and public company filings, the combined revenue of the three largest console platforms in Q1’26 reached $21.7 billion, a new record. The previous high was $20.9 billion in Q4’22.
The result is driven primarily by revenue from Nintendo’s gaming division, which grew 86% YoY in Q3 FY26, boosted by the first holiday season for the Nintendo Switch 2.
Sony (G&NS) revenue fell 4% in Q3 FY26. Hardware sales declines were offset by growth in PSN services (+12% YoY) and game sales (+6%). Microsoft was down 9% in revenue, with hardware sales falling 32% and content sales down 5%.
Inside Roblox, Steal a Brainrot remained the most-visited game in Q1’26 (12 billion new visits, peak CCU of 3 million). The top titles also include some long-running projects: Blox Fruits (launched 2019), Brookhaven (2020), Rivals (2024, a veteran by platform standards), and Adopt Me (2017).
Steam CCU continues to grow, while Roblox is normalizing after its 2025 peak.
According to InvestGame, total M&A deal volume in Q1’26 was $7.7 billion across 52 transactions, matching the quarterly records set in Q1’25 and Q3’25.
The quarter’s largest deal was Savvy Games Group’s acquisition of Moonton (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) for approximately $6 billion. The second-largest (in size, though arguably not in strategic significance) was Scopely (also part of Savvy Games Group), announcing its acquisition of Loom Games at a $1 billion valuation.
Post-pandemic M&A activity has been concentrated in large companies with established IP, and at valuations that represent record highs for the market.
Other notable deals: NCSoft acquired the JustPlay platform for $202 million (15.1x EBIT, 1.7x revenue), Nazara announced the acquisition of Bluetile for $100 million (7.2x EBITDA, 1.3x revenue), and Mattel bought out Mattel163 for $159 million.
Public market deal volume in Q1’26 was $1 billion (-68% YoY), across 11 transactions (-31% YoY). The second-lowest activity level since Q2’24, with only Q3’25 weaker.
Key public market events in Q1’26: Hasbro placed $400 million in bonds; Kakao Games announced a $200 million raise ($160 million PIPE plus $40 million in bonds) from LY Corporation; Xsolla announced a $204 million SPAC; Stillfront placed $107 million in bonds.
LY Corporation became the largest shareholder in Kakao Games upon the deal’s close. LY Corporation is a JV between SoftBank Group and Naver Corporation, which has LINE, Yahoo! Japan, PayPay, and other assets. Strategically, the company is expected to help Kakao Games expand in the Japanese market, which the company views as a key target.
Gaming company stocks declined in Q1’26 alongside the broader market.
From January 2023 to March 2026, the Nasdaq grew 108%, the Magnificent 7 gained 172%, and the rest of the market gained 50%. Over the same period, major gaming holding companies (Nintendo, Tencent, EA, Take-Two, Sony, Bandai Namco, NetEase) gained 32%; PC/console companies fell 11%; Asian mobile companies fell 29%; and Western mobile company valuations dropped 52%.
NTM EV/EBITDA multiples at end of Q1’26: PC/console companies trade at 10.7x, large holding companies at 10.2x, Asian mobile companies at 6.5x, Western mobile companies at 3.8x.
Nearly all companies are in the red in terms of share price in Q1’26. Exceptions: NCSOFT (+11%), KRAFTON (+4%), and Netmarble (+2%). Broadly, poor performance despite what are, in aggregate, reasonably solid financial results.
Early-stage deals (Pre-Seed and Seed) have almost evaporated: $0.1 billion in Q1’26 (-50% versus Q1’25). Series A deals, however, grew to $0.2 billion (+75% YoY). Total early-stage deal count was 43, the lowest in five years.
❗️The numbers confirm how difficult the market is for early-stage fundraising. Finding an investor without validated economics, strong metrics, a proven product, or an impressive team is nearly impossible.
Some name UA financing as an alternative to VC capital. But reaching that point still requires a finished product, so this is really a substitute for Growth rounds, not early-stage ones.
Interestingly, despite fairly negative public market sentiment toward mobile companies, investment in them continues at a meaningful pace. The most recent notable deal: a $70 million Series A in Ares Interactive from General Catalyst.
Arcadia, BITKRAFT, and Griffin Gaming Partners lead by number of deals completed over the last 12 months.
General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, and BITKRAFT lead by total deal volume.
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