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| The Burndown |
| STRATEGY & CAPITAL IN THE GLOBAL GAMING INDUSTRY |
| No. 1 · Week of Oct 5–10, 2026 |
| In game and film production, a burndown is the chart that tracks how much work is left before a project has to ship. Each week, The Burndown looks at what moved in games and entertainment capital markets and what is still left on the clock. |
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| THE WEEK IN BRIEF |
| Consolidation dominated the week. Skydance closed its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and moved quickly to combine its licensing businesses, and Xbox built a dedicated division to monetize its franchises outside the games themselves. At the smaller end, transactions were structured to protect the buyer: earn-out-heavy studio acquisitions, shared services inside existing portfolios, and management buyouts in place of strategic sales. Fresh equity went to teams with strategic and family-office backing. |
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| THE DEALS & MOVES |
| 01 · MEDIA CONSOLIDATION |
| Skydance closes Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, creating Hollywood's newest scale player |
| Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6; the combined company is renamed Skydance and trades on the NYSE as SKYD. WBD shareholders received $31.02 per share in cash, with aggregate merger consideration of roughly $78 billion per WBD's 8-K, in a deal widely reported at $110 billion including debt. Axios, citing Bloomberg and Fitch, reported $52 billion of new debt raised to close, on top of $87.5 billion of WBD liabilities assumed. |
| Why it matters. The largest studio combination in years arrives heavily levered, which makes integration savings, portfolio pruning and IP monetization the near-term story for credit and equity holders alike. |
| Source: PR Newswire / Skydance → |
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| 02 · INTEGRATION |
| Skydance folds DC, publishing and consumer products into a single licensing group under Josh Silverman |
| Days after close, Skydance combined Paramount and WBD publishing, consumer products and DC into Skydance Products & Publishing, led by former Mattel chief franchise officer Josh Silverman. The company says the combination makes it the world's second-largest entertainment licensor after Disney, with an estimated $22.5 billion in global retail sales across franchises including Harry Potter, DC, Star Trek and SpongeBob. |
| Why it matters. Licensing is high-margin, low-capex revenue; a unified desk gives Skydance more leverage with licensees and is an early sign of where integration synergies will be pursued. |
| Source: Variety → |
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| 03 · STRATEGY / EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Xbox launches 'XP' to monetize franchises beyond the game; names ex-Meta executive as Mojang CEO |
| Microsoft's Xbox formed XP, a division spanning film and TV (Xbox Pictures), merchandise (Xbox Products), live and location-based experiences (Xbox Places) and brand partnerships (Xbox Partnerships). It is led by Kayleen Walters, previously Mojang president and a 13-year Lucasfilm veteran, who grew Minecraft consumer products into a multibillion-dollar business with more than 250 licensees. Maria Angelidou-Smith, who spent nearly a decade at Meta and was most recently Reddit's chief product officer, becomes Mojang CEO on Oct. 19. |
| Why it matters. Xbox is formally building a franchise-licensing P&L around Minecraft, Call of Duty, Fallout and Halo, which means more film, TV, consumer-products and location-based deals for outside capital and partners to compete for. |
| Source: Variety → |
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| 04 · IP / FILM |
| Paramount develops a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 film; CD Projekt shares rise |
| Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action film set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing alongside rights holder CD Projekt Red. Reuters reported CD Projekt shares rose 3% in early trading on Oct. 9. The game has sold more than 40 million copies and its Phantom Liberty expansion 15 million; financial terms, cast and release date were not disclosed. |
| Why it matters. Adaptations are now an equity catalyst for listed IP owners, and Paramount's slate (Street Fighter, Call of Duty, now Cyberpunk) shows how the merged studio intends to use game IP. |
| Source: Deadline → |
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| 05 · M&A |
| Fireshine Games (EG7) acquires Fair Games, developer of Necesse, with an earn-out-heavy structure |
| Enad Global 7's publishing arm Fireshine Games acquired Danish studio Fair Games ApS on Oct. 7 for $4 million upfront, up to $2 million more tied to content and platform releases, and possible performance payments of 10-20% of net revenue if targets are met. Necesse, the studio's only title, has sold 2.5 million copies with $14.4 million in gross revenue; founder Mads Skovgaard stays on as CEO. |
| Why it matters. This is a clean template for small-cap game M&A in 2026: upfront cash at a fraction of lifetime gross (about 28%), with the rest contingent on content and port delivery. |
| Source: WN Hub → |
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| 06 · PORTFOLIO RESTRUCTURING |
| Nordisk Games puts Supermassive's publishing under sister studio Avalanche |
| Nordisk Games said Avalanche Studios Group will handle global publishing, marketing and distribution for Supermassive Games titles, beginning with Directive 8020, as the first game in a long-term collaboration. The two subsidiaries will also share finance, people and IT functions, while each keeps creative independence and ownership of its games and roadmaps. |
| Why it matters. This is a holding company consolidating overhead and go-to-market across owned studios rather than buying more; expect similar shared-services moves from other mid-sized portfolio owners. |
| Source: Nordisk Games → |
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| 07 · FUNDRAISING |
| Gardens Interactive raises $35M+ Series B led by Lightspeed, with the Nintendo family office returning |
| Los Angeles-based Gardens Interactive announced $35 million-plus in Series B funding on Oct. 7, led by Lightspeed, for its unrevealed social roleplaying game. Participants include Zenith Capital, Bayshore Capital, Denali and several family offices and founders. Returning investor Yamauchi No.10, the Nintendo family office, calls Gardens its only gaming-startup investment. Krafton holds a board seat, and the company expects to finish rolling closes by month-end. |
| Why it matters. Pre-launch studios can still raise sizable rounds when they bring strategic and family-office backers along with tier-one VCs; that investor mix is worth noting for HNW allocators. |
| Source: Gardens Interactive → |
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| 08 · DIVESTITURE / MBO |
| Undead Labs details its management buyout from Xbox after a planned sale fell through |
| In interviews published this week, Undead Labs head Philip Holt said the studio left Xbox through a management-led acquisition via a new vehicle, Full Measure, wholly owned by employees, after a reported sale to Splash Damage fell through. The late-September separation came with 'significant' layoffs (number not disclosed). State of Decay 3 now has an unnamed external publisher and outside development support. |
| Why it matters. Corporate carve-outs of pre-revenue studios are increasingly ending as MBOs rather than strategic sales, which opens room for structured financing (publisher capital, revenue-based debt, minority equity). |
| Source: The Game Business → |
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| LOOKING AHEAD |
| Deal flow to watch |
| ▪ | Skydance balance sheet. Large new debt plus assumed WBD liabilities increases the odds of non-core asset sales, JV structures and licensing-led monetization over the next several quarters. Axios |
| ▪ | Distressed studio capital. Gravity Well, founded by Respawn and Infinity Ward veterans, laid off more than 40 staff after losing its funding partner this summer and is still looking for a new backer. Rescue financing and acqui-hire opportunities are building. GamingBolt |
| ▪ | Monetization regulation. Italy's antitrust authority opened an EU-coordinated probe into virtual-currency practices at Microsoft-owned game makers, including Activision Blizzard. In-game currency design now belongs on every diligence checklist. Reuters |
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| Thank you for reading. If any of this week’s themes bear on your portfolio or your plans, I am always glad to compare notes. |
| Neil Haldar |
| Managing Director, HALDAR & CO |
| Strategy and revenue growth for studios, publishers and investors in the global gaming industry. Las Vegas. |
| neil@haldar.co · www.haldar.co · linkedin.com/in/neilhaldar |
| Past issues of The Burndown: haldar.co/insights |
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Important disclosure. This newsletter is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, a recommendation, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or to participate in any transaction, and it should not be relied upon in making any investment decision. Nothing herein is tailored to the circumstances of any reader; consult your own professional advisors. Information is drawn from third-party public sources believed to be reliable but has not been independently verified, and no representation is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Figures are as reported by the cited sources; undisclosed terms are not estimated. Opinions and forward-looking views are those of the author as of the date of publication, are not guarantees, and may change without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. HALDAR & CO provides strategic advisory services and may have, or may seek, business relationships with companies or parties mentioned. Third-party links are provided for convenience; HALDAR & CO is not responsible for their content.
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