Take-Two to buy Zynga for staggering $12.7bn Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Take-Two to buy Zynga for staggering $12.7bn Rockstar deal. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 10 Jan 2022 65 comments Take-Two, owner of Borderlands publisher 2K and Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar, has announced it will purchase mobile games giant Zynga for around $12.7bn - making it the most expensive video games acquisition of all time. Best known for its ever-popular Farmville, Words with Friends and CSR Racing franchises, Zynga will now become part of the Take-Two empire, though continue to make games under its own brand name. Zynga's other big success stories include Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Merge Dragons! and Zynga Poker. Watch on YouTube With Zynga tucked inside its trousers, Take-Two said it would become "one of the largest publicly-traded interactive entertainment companies in the world". Take-Two's plan is to leverage Zynga's development skills to create mobile games based around existing IP. As well as Borderlands and GTA, Take-Two also oversees NBA 2K, Red Dead Redemption, BioShock and Mafia. At the same time, Take-Two said it was also keen to use Zynga's knowledge of mobile gaming to "drive free-to-play synchronous cross-platform ambitions" in products from its existing internal studios. "Combining Zynga's expertise in mobile and next-generation platforms with Take-Two's best-in-class capabilities and intellectual property will enable us to further advance our mission to connect the world through games while achieving significant growth and synergies together," Zynga boss Frank Gibeau said. As developer Simon Roth pointed out, the deal will also include all the Natural Motion animation technology, previously used to great effect in Rockstar games like GTA4 and Red Dead Redemption. It also includes all the Natural Motion animation tech that's been sat unused for over half a decade. Take Two (Rockstar) was our biggest license when I was there. https://t.co/xNwsTWT9p7- Simon Roth (@SimoRoth) January 10, 2022 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Finally, if it needed to be said, good lord $12.7bn is an eye-opening amount of money. For comparison, Activision paid $5.9bn for Candy Crush company King in 2015, while Microsoft splashed out $7.5bn for Bethesda owner Zenimax Software and all of its studios in 2020. The only deal that comes close to today's is Chinese megacorp Tencent's $10.2bn purchase of Clash of Clans and Clash Royale maker Supercell back in 2016. Take Two most recently hit the headlines for slapping Josef Fares' It Takes Two with a trademark claim, meaning the acclaimed puzzle game about a pair of divorcing parents had to give up the rights to its own title. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 7 Nintendo Switch firmware update lets you take screenshots in the Switch Online app The app on your console, not your phone. 7 Latest Articles Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store