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| The Burndown |
| STRATEGY & CAPITAL IN THE GLOBAL GAMING INDUSTRY |
| No. 2 · Week of Oct 12-16, 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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| ON THE ROAD |
| See you at GamesBeat Next SF |
| I'll be in San Francisco for GamesBeat Next on November 2-3 at Convene and would love to catch up with folks while I'm in town. |
| Book a 30 minute time with me here: go.haldar.co/gamesbeat-30 → |
| Not registered yet? Get your GamesBeat Next pass |
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| THE WEEK IN BRIEF |
| Games deal flow led the week. Aream & Co counted 54 games M&A transactions worth $57.8 billion in Q3 2026, almost entirely the $55 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts, with Asia at the center of activity, led by Alibaba's sale of Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital for more than $1.5 billion. Tencent anchored a $46 million package for Turkey's Flow Games even as Tencent-owned Funcom restructured around two live games, and Netflix's cut of about 6% of staff reached its games division. In media, Fox and Roku shareholders approved their $22 billion combination. |
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| THE DEALS & MOVES |
| 01 · MEDIA CONSOLIDATION |
| Fox and Roku shareholders approve $22 billion combination |
| Shareholders of both companies approved Fox's cash-and-stock acquisition of Roku at special meetings on Oct. 14. Under the deal announced in June, Fox will pay $160 per Roku share, giving Roku an enterprise value of $22 billion. Fox holders will own about 73% of the combined company and Roku holders about 27%, and Roku founder Anthony Wood joins the Fox board. Fox has said the deal remains on track to close in the first half of next year, despite a U.S. Department of Justice request for information that it called "entirely expected." |
| Why it matters. A broadcaster built on live sports and news is buying the connected-TV platform that sits in more than half of U.S. broadband homes. With shareholders on board, regulatory timing is the main open question. |
| Source: Deadline → |
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| 02 · REGULATORY / MEDIA CONSOLIDATION |
| UK Culture Secretary signals a public interest review of Sky's £1.6 billion deal for ITV's broadcasting arm |
| On Oct. 15, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she is "minded to" issue a public interest intervention notice on Sky's proposed acquisition of ITV Media & Entertainment, agreed in July for up to £1.6 billion. The deal covers ITV's free-to-air channels and its ITVX streaming service but not ITV Studios. Her grounds include news plurality and media ownership. She also proposed a new test covering on-demand programming, which would need legislation. The parties have until 9am on Oct. 20 to respond, and no final decision has been taken. |
| Why it matters. UK media deals still face a multi-stage Ofcom and CMA review after a price is agreed. Extending public interest tests to streaming would widen the regulatory scope for future UK media M&A. |
| Source: UK Parliament (Hansard) → · BBC News → |
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| 03 · STRATEGY / EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Netflix cuts about 1,000 jobs, including in games, and names Peter Rice chief content officer |
| Netflix told staff on Oct. 14 it would lay off roughly 6% of its workforce (about 1,000 people), mainly in product, technology, legal and HR. PocketGamer.biz reported the games division was also affected, including Finnish studio Next Games, though Netflix hasn't said how many games roles were cut. On Oct. 15, Variety reported that chief content officer Bela Bajaria is leaving after 10 years and will be replaced by former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice. The co-CEOs say Netflix remains on track for its full-year forecast, and Q3 results are due Oct. 20. |
| Why it matters. The largest streamer is cutting overhead from a position of profitability, and including games in the cuts shows how little protection non-core bets get when large media companies tighten spending. Rice has some games history: at Fox he oversaw the 2017 formation of FoxNext Games, which combined the company's game units, though Netflix's announcement of his role covers series, film and live events and does not mention games. |
| Source: Variety → · PocketGamer.biz → · Deadline (2017) → |
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| 04 · DIVESTITURE / FOUNDER BUYBACK |
| Reese Witherspoon and Mediawan buy Hello Sunshine back from Blackstone-backed Candle Media |
| On Oct. 13, Paris-based Mediawan and Witherspoon, who is investing alongside it, agreed to acquire Hello Sunshine from Candle Media. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Variety notes that Candle's original investment valued Hello Sunshine at nearly $1 billion. Hello Sunshine joins a Mediawan group that already includes Chernin Entertainment, Plan B and See-Saw Films. Moelis & Company advised Candle Media. |
| Why it matters. A PE-funded roll-up is selling a marquee asset to a strategic consolidator, with the founder reinvesting. That is a structure to watch as pandemic-era media investments look for exits. |
| Source: Deadline → · Variety → |
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| 05 · DISTRESS |
| Character.AI files for Chapter 11, with Disney as stalking-horse bidder |
| Character.AI filed for Chapter 11 on Oct. 12 to run a court-supervised sale of potentially all of its assets. Disney Worldwide Services agreed to pay $20 million as stalking-horse bidder for a non-exclusive perpetual license to certain company intellectual property and claims. Under the agreement, former Character.AI employees will join Disney, which hired the company's former CEO, Karandeep Anand, as its chief technology officer last month. Character.AI expects to complete the auction by late November or early December. |
| Why it matters. AI character platforms under legal and regulatory pressure are turning into bankruptcy-sale opportunities, and strategic buyers are using license-plus-talent structures instead of buying whole companies. |
| Source: Variety → |
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| 06 · M&A / MARKET DATA |
| Q3 games M&A: $57.8 billion with EA's buyout counted, $2.4 billion without the megadeals |
| Aream & Co counted 54 games M&A transactions worth $57.8 billion in Q3 2026. That figure includes the $55 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts, completed Aug. 5. Aream also counted $2.8 billion of private investment across 137 deals and $1.3 billion across 13 public-market deals. Drake Star Partners, which counts the megadeals separately, reported 45 M&A transactions totaling $2.4 billion and $1.6 billion of private funding across 106 rounds, with AI and tools taking more than 80% of that funding. Both firms put Asia at the center of activity, led by Alibaba's sale of Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital for more than $1.5 billion. |
| Why it matters. The headline total is almost entirely one take-private. The mid-market, at roughly $2-3 billion a quarter and driven by divestitures and Asian sellers, is the better baseline for sizing deal flow. |
| Source: GamesIndustry.biz → · GamesBeat → |
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| 07 · FUNDRAISING |
| Tencent anchors a $46 million package for Turkey's Flow Games |
| On Oct. 13, PocketGamer.biz reported, citing a source, that Istanbul-based Flow Games, developer of the physics-based mobile shooter Smash Fest, had secured a $46 million funding package, with about three-quarters coming from Tencent. On Oct. 16, the company confirmed $49 million raised to date across its rounds from Tencent, Makers Fund, Arcadia Gaming Partners and Ludus Ventures. It also said Smash Fest has passed 23 million downloads since its global launch in May 2026. |
| Why it matters. Tencent keeps building positions in Turkish mobile studios (it led Circle Games' $25 million Series A, and its Miniclip unit bought Masomo in 2019), and Aream notes Turkish publishers are still gaining share in mobile. |
| Source: PocketGamer.biz → |
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| 08 · PORTFOLIO RESTRUCTURING |
| Tencent-owned Funcom restructures around two live games; CEO Rui Casais to leave at year-end |
| On Oct. 14, Funcom said it will focus only on live operations for Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening and will reduce headcount (the number wasn't disclosed). CEO Rui Casais, who has led the company for 11 years, including through Tencent's 2020 acquisition, will leave at the end of the year. Chief product officer Scott Junior, executive producer on Dune: Awakening, will succeed him. GamesIndustry.biz notes that Tencent has managed its portfolio more aggressively over the last 18 months, divesting Secret Mode, Splash Damage and Bulkhead. |
| Why it matters. Right-sizing studios after launch, on top of earlier divestitures, suggests Tencent's Western portfolio will keep producing restructurings, carve-outs and asset sales. |
| Source: GamesIndustry.biz → |
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| LOOKING AHEAD |
| Deal flow to watch |
| ▪ | Skydance's equity reset. Skydance shares fell 22% on Oct. 14 after it distributed about 471 million warrants (exercisable at $12) to Class B holders. That left a market value of about $36.6 billion at Thursday's close, excluding the warrants, against roughly $78 billion in cash paid for WBD. Variety cites a $6 billion cost-savings target and interest costs above $6 billion a year, which keeps non-core asset sales and licensing deals in view. Variety |
| ▪ | Studio restructuring pipeline. Ubisoft proposed closing Finland's RedLynx (up to 52 roles) and cut 70 roles at Ubisoft Singapore. It then opened talks on a voluntary departure plan covering about 100 staff across its German studios, and Embracer's Fishlabs also announced layoffs. Closures and smaller support teams are increasing the supply of experienced teams and small assets. GamesIndustry.biz | GamesIndustry.biz |
| ▪ | Non-dilutive capital for listed small caps. TSX-listed East Side Games replaced its RBC facility with a C$3 million revolver and up to C$3.5 million of tax-credit-backed term loans from National Bank of Canada, plus a US$4 million term loan from Export Development Canada, with no shares or warrants issued. The company says the facilities let it bring user-acquisition spending back to normal levels starting in Q4. East Side Games Group (newswire) |
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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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