On Friday morning, many woke up to a report that Amazon was set to announce on Friday that will be buying Electronic Arts (EA). The report originally surfaced via USA Today’s For The Win site ran a story from partner outlet GLHF that claimed as such.
Immediately after the news surfaced, EA stock rose among pre-market traders, reaching a pre-market value of $146.76.
But what’s really going on? Is EA really about to be acquired by Amazon in what would likely be the largest gaming acquisition in history?
Other Outlets Deny Reports That Amazon Is Buying EA
Not long after the report surfaced, For The Win published an update that refuted the original report. The update, posted around 10:30am ET, said that the story was run in violation of standards regarding “unnamed and unvetted sources”. It came after CNBC said during its broadcast that sources told them that Amazon wasn’t going to be making a bid to purchase the company.
“I have talked to some people who would actually know if there was something going on, and they say there’s nothing going on,” said CNBC reporter David Faber.
“EA has definitely been out there in the past a bit, considering what it might do, you could imagine Amazon might have some interest…” Faber added. “But no, this is not going to happen today, from what I’m hearing, unless the people who had been involved previously have no idea.”
Ultimately, the writer of the original article, Kirk McKeand, posted on Twitter regarding the accuracy of his reporting.
“If you get something wrong in games journalism, it’s a bit like when you work behind a bar and drop a pint glass, and everyone cheers,” McKeand said. “Except, instead of cheering, they chuck more pint glasses at you. Stay classy.”
He added in a follow up post, “Also, CNBC said “it isn’t happening today”, which isn’t the same as “it isn’t happening”. And if I turn out to be wrong, then I was wrong. It happens. It’s the first time it’s happened to me with a report like this, but it was bound to happen eventually.”
For a while now, there has been speculation regarding the possible sale of EA. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Disney, and even Comcast had reported discussions about acquiring the 40-year-old company. So far, nothing of substance of come from any talks, and it doesn’t appear that anything will be coming any time soon.
So, is EA for sale? Possibly. Is Amazon going to be the company to buy it? It doesn’t appear to be the case.
What did you think when you heard about Amazon possibly buying EA? Let us know in the comments below, and take it further in the official SGO Discord server.