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Sony Releases 'Marvel Tokon' Game, EA Merger Deal Approved
"Game On" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.NEW RELEASES:This week's most notable new release is Sony-publishedfighting game "Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls," which features playable superheroes from Marvel Comics, including Captain America, Spider-Man, and Iron Man. The game launches August 6 for PC and PlayStation 5.EA DEAL CLOSES:According to a regulatory filing, Electronic Artssaid that, as of July 30, 2026, all regulatory approvals required to complete its merger with Oak-Eagle AcquireCo and Oak-Eagle MergerCo have been obtained. Electronic Arts currently expects the merger to close on or about the close of trading on August 4, 2026. Completion of the merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary closing conditions set forth in the merger agreement. Oak-Eagle AcquireCo and Oak-Eagle MergerCo are ntities formed by an investor consortium comprised of The Public Investment Fund, private investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. and private investment funds affiliated with Affinity Partners.XBOX RESULTS:Along with its fourth quarter earnings report last week, Microsoftreported downbeat results for its Xbox business. Xbox content and services revenue fell 10% year-over-year during the period, while Xbox hardware revenue dropped 13%. "When it comes to Xbox, we are making the necessary decisions required across our content portfolio, platform, and operations to reset the business for long-term growth," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during an earnings call, adding that Microsoft expects "to return the business to growth in fiscal 2027."Following the Q4 print, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said she is aiming to push the gaming business' margin back in line with rivals and Nintendoand even surpass them in profitability by mid-2030, CNBC's Jordan Novet. "We will not live on past successes or be trapped by past failures," Sharma wrote in a Thursday message to staff members which was viewed by CNBC. "We will learn from both and put our energy into creating what players will love for decades."PLAYSTATION RESULTS:Meanwhile, Sony reported upbeat Q1 results and raised its FY26 sales guidance last week. Looking to Sony Interactive Entertainment business. PlayStation 5 unit sales fell 1.6M units during the period, down 36% from 2.5M during the same period last year. Sales in the Game & Network Services segment rose a modest 0.6% year-over-year, while first-party game sales fell from 6.9M to 6M units. Meanwhile, monthly active users across the PlayStation platform in June rose 2% year-over-year in to 125M, though total playtime during gthe quarter fell 4% year-over-year. "We expect further improvements in engagement metrics going forward because many major titles are scheduled to be released toward the end of the calendar year," the company said.Prior to the earnings report, Reuters' Sam Nusseythat while Sony is set to be a major beneficiary of the launch of Take-Two's"Grand Theft Auto VI," it comes as the company grapples with increasing memory chip prices. Sony launched the PS5 in 2020 and dealt with pandemic supply chain disruptions, but now its impacted by AI investment-driven memory price increases leading to repeatedly increased prices for its consoles. While the company has secured memory supply for the financial year, prices are expected to continue to increase for the console next year, Nussey noted.ROBLOX RESULTS:Additionally, Robloxreported mixed results for Q2, with earnings per share beating consensus but revenue falling below Wall Street estimates. The company also reported a 10% year-over-year spike in daily active users for Q2 and a 5% year-over-year increase in hours engaged.Looking ahead, Roblox provided a conservative revenue outlook in Q3, adding that while it sees a sequential increase in DAUs in the quarter, it anticipates the monetization softness it observed in Q2 persisting in Q3. Meanwhile, the company stated that it is accelerating its previously announced transition to quarter-only guidance by one quarter, issuing Q3 guidance, by not FY26 guidance, saying, "given our long-term focus, we do not believe annual guidance is a helpful tool for investors."Multiple analysts downgraded the shares following the quarterly print and withdrawal of FY26 guidance, with BMO Capital saying it expects engagement and monetization pressure at Roblox to continue over several quarters, especially in Q4 as "Grand Theft Auto VI" launches and takes share from every other player in the video game ecosystem. In addition, Deutsche Bank downgraded Roblox to Hold from Buy with a price target of $38, down from $56, saying the company reported a "disappointing" Q3 outlook which "materially reduces" its near-term visibility.MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:Nintendo's "Splatoon Raiders" topped the Japan sales chart last week,Microsoft is raising Xbox Series X/S console prices in Europe and the U.K.,Microsoft is planning to bring more Xbox 360 games to PC,Tencenthas rebooted its ambitious video game "Last Sentinel" after six years of development,
U.S. Stocks Rise as Middle East Tensions Ease, Oil Prices Drop 5%
The major averages began the week and the month with a winning session as easing tensions in the Middle East sent oil prices sharply lower. Oil prices dropped about 5% after President Trump said on Sunday that he canceled a planned attack on Iran, adding that negotiations between the two sides would resume Monday. The news follows U.S. media reports late last week that Trump was preparing a new wave of strikes on Iranian infrastructure.Meanwhile, earnings season remains a catalyst, with investors awaiting results from Palantir after Monday's close, followed later this week by reports from AMD, McDonald's, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Disney and Uber. The market is also preparing for SpaceX's first earnings report since its public listing.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:AstraZenecais in talks to combine with Bristol Myersfor $400B,Sonyand Disney's"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has reportedly generated thethis year and the second highest in Hollywood historyIntegerby KKRin a $5.7B transactionCuriumLantheusfor up to $114.50 per shareAmazonhit a new all-time high to start the week, with its2. WALL STREET CALLS:Circle Internetto Underweight at Morgan StanleyMeliusStarbucksto Hold following last week's earnings reportBest Buywith an Underperform at BofATruistCorningto Buy on recent share pullbackeBayto Underweight at Wells Fargo3. AROUND THE WEB:N-ableis urging customers to immediately patch an actively exploited N-central authentication bypass vulnerability, BleepingComputer reportsMicrosoftis raising prices of Xbox Series X/S consoles in the U.K. and Europe, Verge reportsChina's Alibabaon Monday unveiled its largest and most capable AI model to date, sending its shares surging, while a research firm said DeepSeek's latest product offers cut-throat pricing that is more than 100 times cheaper than Anthropic's Claude Fable 5, Reuters reportsAppleis facing an unusual MacBook Air supply shortage due to industrywide memory constraints, leading to longer delivery times, selective price increases, and efforts to secure additional memory supply while prioritizing other Mac models, Bloomberg saysChevronand Exxon Mobilhave warned high fuel prices will likely remain even as oil prices drop, since the wars in Russia and the Middle East have left global refining capacity short, Bloomberg reports4. MOVERS:Atkoreincreased afterand announcing it will be acquired by Prysmian for $95 per share in cashFergusonwas higher after beingElectronic Artsin the S&P 500 at open on August 5CNH Industrialgained in New York afterand providing guidance for FY26Sportsradarfell in New York afterand cutting its guidance for FY26GameStopwas lower after exchanging $1.4B of5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Sally Beautyand narrowed its guidance for FY26Indiviorand raised its outlook for FY26 along with announcing its merger agreement with Supernus PharmaceuticalsMarriott, provided guidance for Q3, and raising its outlook for FY26Trane, with CEO Dave Regnery calling it "another outstanding quarter"Loews, with EPS and revenue higher year-over-yearINDEXES:The Dow rose 693.38, or 1.32%, to 53,178.41, the Nasdaq gained 540.04, or 2.13%, to 25,913.90, and the S&P 500 advanced 110.78, or 1.48%, to 7,600.50.
Investor Consortium Acquires Electronic Arts
An investor consortium comprised of Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners are acquiring Electronic Arts in a deal expected to be completed soon, pending final conditions.
Electronic Arts Enters Merger Agreement with Investor Consortium
According to a regulatory filing, Elecronic Arts said that, on September 28, 2025, the company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among the Company, Oak-Eagle AcquireCo, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and Oak-Eagle MergerCo, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. The Merger Agreement provides that, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, Merger Sub will merge with and into the company, with the company surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. Parent and Merger Sub are entities formed by an investor consortium comprised of The Public Investment Fund, private investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. and private investment funds affiliated with Affinity Partners. As of July 30, 2026, all regulatory approvals required to complete the Merger have been obtained. Electronic Arts currently expects the Merger to close on or about the close of trading on August 4, 2026. Completion of the Merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary closing conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement.
Ubisoft Q1 Net Bookings Down 9% to €256M
"Game On" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.NEW RELEASES:This week's most notable new release is Microsoft's"Halo: Campaign Evolved," a remake of the single-player campaign of 2001's "Halo: Combat Evolved." The title releasees on July 28 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The release marks the first time a game in the "Halo" franchise will be playable on a PlayStation console.CIRCANA JUNE:Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said that U.S. video game total market projected spending reached $4.5B during June 2026, a decrease of 21% when compared to a year ago. First half spending finished 1% behind 2025's pace, at $27.5B. June 2025 featured the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, which set an all-time U.S. video game hardware launch month sales record of 1.6M units. Nintendo Switch 2's June 2025 debut also drove the highest hardware and accessory spending totals for a June month in US tracked history. June 2026 video game hardware spending declined 62% when compared to a year ago, to $383M, driven by the Nintendo Switch 2 June 2025 launch month comparable. The $383M in June 2026 hardware spending compares to $1B a year ago, the $289M of June 2024 and June 2023's $456M. Nintendo Switch 2 hardware spending was 79% below the platform's total during its June 2025 launch month. PlayStation 5 spending fell by 19% year-on-year, while Xbox Series more than doubled. Nintendo Switch 2 was again the best-selling hardware platform across both units and dollars for the month and 2026 year-to-date, with PlayStation 5 continuing to rank second across both measures and time periods. Video game content spending fell by 12% in June when compared to a year ago, to $3.9B. Year-to-date content dollars were flat to 2025, at $24.3B. The top-selling games for June in the U.S. were Electronic Arts'"UFC 6," indie game "Meccha Chamelon," IO Interactive's "007 First Light," Nintendo's "Star Fox," Warner Bros. Discovery's"LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight," Nintendo's "Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream," and Microsoft's "Forza Horizon 6."UBISOFT RESULTS:Last week, Ubisoftreported Q1 net bookings of EUR256M, down 9% year-over-year and slightly above guidance. Yves Guillemot, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said "We delivered first-quarter net bookings slightly above guidance. This performance was led by a record contribution from Invincible: Guarding the Globe while the rest of our portfolio, including Rainbow Six Siege, performed in line with our expectations. We also continued to execute our transformation. This included further targeted rightsizing actions and the ongoing reconcentration of resources towards our highest-potential opportunities. At the same time, the leadership of our new operating model and organization continues to take shape, including the appointment of Christoph Hartmann to lead Creative House 2 in building a world-class portfolio of battlefield-driven experiences."Looking ahead, the company confirmed its FY26-FY27 and mid-term outlook, guiding for net bookings to fall by a high single-digit percentage, a high single-digit negative non-IFRS operating margin, and free cash flow consumption of no more than EUR500M. "The strong launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced in early July by Vantage Studios is an encouraging proof point," Guillemot added. "The game is the highest-rated Assassin's Creed title since the original Black Flag, and we are very pleased with the praise it received from players. Two weeks in, the title has already exceeded the annual expectations we had. I would like to warmly thank the teams whose talent and dedication brought it to life. This launch illustrates the enduring appeal of the Assassin's Creed brand, as well as the early benefits of our ongoing transformation and commitment to delivering very high-quality experiences. Finally, today we are confirming our FY2026-27 objectives and mid-term outlook. FY2026-27 remains a year of disciplined execution as we continue to implement our transformation, invest behind our strongest opportunities and prepare for a significantly stronger content cycle. We are confident this new operating model will strengthen our position as a leading creator of high-quality, memorable and engaging entertainment experiences, and enable the Group to return to a stronger trajectory of performance, cash generation and long-term value creation."Following the report, Wedbush downgraded Ubisoft to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of EUR 5, down from EUR 12. The firm has less confidence in the company's financing path and pipeline visibility following the Q1 report. Ubisoft did not raise fiscal 2027 guidance despite upside from both "Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced" and "Invincible," implying a back catalog "eroding quickly enough to absorb real beats," the analyst tells investors in a research note.EU/EA:Last week, the European Commission approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Electronic Arts of the U.S. by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The transaction relates primarily to the production and distribution of video games for mobile devices, PCs and consoles, as well as the organisation and commercialisation of video game competitions, commonly referred to as electronic sports events. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given its limited impact on competition in the markets where the companies are active. The notified transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure.AD-SUPPORTED CLOUD GAMING:Microsoft is allowing Xbox Insiders to test free, ad-supported cloud gaming sessions starting Thursday, The Verge's Stevie Bonifield reported last week. The free streaming sessions will be limited to games a user already owns, and will be limited to one hour, the author said, noting that advertisements will only play "before sessions begin."ROBLOX PT HIKE:BofA raised the firm's price target on Robloxto $54 from $48 and reiterated a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm's higher target multiple is driven by increased confidence in platform re-acceleration, says the analyst, who reiterates a Neutral rating pending evidence that Roblox can reaccelerate top line growth to above 20% year-over-year again for the long term. The firm prefers Take-Twoin the space given what it calls a "clearer catalyst path" with the GTA6 launch, the analyst added.MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:Capcomthat "Resident Evil Requiem" has sold 8M units so far, while "Pragmata" has sold 2.5M unitsXbox is making certain original Xbox titles, including "Fuzion Frenzy" and "Crimson Skies,"Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive "God of War Laufey"
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