This story originally appeared on Best Stocks
Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American electronic game publishing arm headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. It was founded in 1986 by Christopher Weaver and Robert A. Altman under the name Weaver Bob Associates. Most of their early games were role-playing video games.
In the 1990s, Bethesda developed a reputation for releasing buggy games. However, in 2004, Bethesda’s vice president Peter Hines said, “Bethesda has a long history of doing quality RPGs based on good old-fashioned fun” and that they don’t “consider ourselves the type of company that makes crappy console shovelware.”
The company is best known for its award-winning open-world role-playing video game series The Elder Scrolls, created in 1994 in a merger with another company called Bethesda Softworks, hence its current name. They have been developing The Elder Scrolls series since 1994, with over 16 million copies sold across all platforms worldwide as of November 2016.
Bethesda has been on the rise in recent years, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll stop anytime soon. Bethesda operates in two segments: video games and publishing. Their video game segment includes the development and publication of their games and licensing agreements with third-party studios. Their publishing segment is focused on digital and physical products across all major platforms, including consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. This broad business model makes them a reliable company to invest in.
Bethesda Softworks has three main offices in North America: Bethesda, Maryland; Rockville, Maryland; and Austin, Texas.
But Bethesda Softworks’ legacy goes back much further than their breakthrough first-person shooters and open-world RPGs. Instead, it goes back to when a single company shaped video gaming: Atari.
Bethesda Softworks played an integral role in the video game industry throughout its history — from reigning as one of the most successful third-party developers during the 8-bit era to presiding as one of the largest publishers today.
Can you buy Bethesda stock?
Although it has been unofficially announced that Bethesda will launch its IPO soon, at press time, Bethesda is not publicity-traded. As a result, investors looking for Bethesda stock usually bought Zynga or Microsoft stock, which is, according to analysts, the closest investment. The two indeed represent some of the best stocks to buy now in the videogame industry and tech industry.
Why ZeniMax Media bought Bethesda.
ZeniMax Media is the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, with over 2.300 employees and headquarters in multiple countries worldwide. Bethesda Softworks’ structure and leadership remain intact following its acquisition by ZeniMax Media on February 20th, 2019.
Bethesda Game Studios is a famous video game developer, designer, and publisher. ZeniMax Media is another company specializing in video games. Both are located in the United States of America, specifically in Rockville, Maryland.
ZeniMax Media has been expanding its business recently by purchasing other companies such as id Software (in 2009) and Arkane Studios (in 2010).
The ZeniMax Media Company: What You Need to Know.
ZeniMax Media, Inc. is a privately-held video game company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. The company publishes popular games like Fallout 4 and Doom (2016) that critics have called “a masterpiece.” ZeniMax also owns Id Software, an influential game developer that brought us the legendary shooter Wolfenstein 3D.
ZeniMax Media’s publishing arm has several well-known brands such as Bethesda Softworks, id Software, Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks, MachineGames, and ZeniMax Online Studios. In addition, ZeniMax Media Company’s editorial team consists of writers from some of the most well-known sources in gaming journalism. From Polygon’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Grant to IGN’s Executive Editor Ryan McCaffrey, their list includes experts across multiple platforms.
ZeniMax Media has come a long way since its humble beginnings almost fifty years ago. From its early days of developing software for the primitive computers of the day to creating today’s most beautiful and cutting-edge games, this is the story of how ZeniMax went from a small-time developer to one of the world’s largest video games companies.
ZeniMax Media Company is one of the most influential players in this industry. Its founders, John Carmack and Michael Abrash were pioneers in the video game world. They broke ground with their revolutionary new games, such as Doom and Quake!
Why Microsoft Corporation Bought the Zenimax Company
Microsoft Corporation announced its plan to acquire video gaming company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash, according to a report by First Things First on May 9th, 2017. The acquisition will be Microsoft’s most significant purchase of an American company.
The deal is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approval.
Microsoft is looking forward to the acquisition possibilities with Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, discussing his thoughts on Microsoft’s plans for the future of Xbox Gaming.
Microsoft Corporation purchased the Zenimax media company. The $2.5 billion acquisition, which includes id software and Bethesda Game Studios, is Microsoft’s most important deal of all time. However, this move to buy a game company isn’t the first time Microsoft has made a big move to expand its mobile and hardware business.
Microsoft is looking forward to the acquisition possibilities with Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, discussing his thoughts on Microsoft’s plans for the future of Xbox Gaming.
“We are thrilled that Microsoft sees the incredible potential of virtual reality and wants to be a part of it,” Price said. “Working together with them and other industry partners, we can bring virtual reality to everyone.”
To understand why this is a big deal, we need to look at what Microsoft has been up to lately. Microsoft has been edging into the gaming sector for a long while now through Xbox and Windows 10. They have also acquired Minecraft, the second-best-selling video game of all time.
That being said, it is not surprising that they would continue to diversify their business by purchasing more games from other developers and more studios entirely, and with the Zenimax company acquisition, they get more than just games themselves.
Bethesda competitors you can invest in
The video game world is a large, fast-growing, high-potential industry. As the big players in the industry profit from the sizable increase in the rise caused by COVID-19, its outstanding stock performance demonstrates that video games are a durable and continuously growing business.
Although it is not yet possible to invest in Bethesda, there are several competing companies with good shares that can be supported, and we will introduce you here:
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Microsoft has a long history in the tech industry. It started in 1975 as a research division for the Microsoft Corporation, or MSFT for short. The company was formed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Seattle, Washington, and was initially called Microsoft. Microsoft has been involved in so many different aspects of tech and Artificial Intelligence and continues to develop and innovate technologies relevant to all levels of industries and individuals. Some examples of these inventions include the Windows operating system, Internet Explorer, Windows operating system, Office software, Skype, Xbox video game system, Bing search engine, Kinect motion sensor, and much more.
Stock of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Microsoft shares aren’t exactly cheap, but you can’t put a price on history. The company is old but excellent, founded in 1975, and Microsoft Corporation recently hit the $600 billion mark in terms of market capitalization. Microsoft Corporation shares also boast an impressive revenue stream.
The stock is trading at $342.54 (+2.83%) with a 52-week range of 211.94 – 349.67 (59.92%) with a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion with a value of $2.572 trillion market
Nintendo Co. Ltd. (NTDOY)
Nintendo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics company headquartered in Kyoto. On September 23, 1889, the company was founded as a card manufacturer by Fusajiro Yamauchi. They became involved in the arcade industry in the 1970s, developing hardware such as Nintendo’s Color TV-Game consoles and producing several arcade games.
In 1983, they moved into the video game industry by introducing the Family Computer (colloquially known as “Famicom”) home console that same year. As of 2016, Nintendo has sold over 2.7 billion video games worldwide and has created one of the largest video game franchises in history, Mario Kart.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. (NTDOY) now competes with other gaming companies like Sony Corporation (SNE) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT).
It’s no surprise that this company has had its ups and downs over the years–especially during the last recession in 2008-2009. However, their products had continued to sell well even when times were challenging. Perhaps it’s because of their focus on innovation and creativity!
Stock Value of Nintendo Co. Ltd. (NTDOY)
Nintendo’s stock price is trading at $59.40 (+1.28%) with a 52-week range between 52.95 – 82.55 (-21.06%) market capitalization of $55.34 Billion, the market cap of $55,752 Billion. With Dividend and Income ahead of 2.28 (3.83%). In 2020 it closed with revenue of $1.31 trillion and earnings of $258.64 billion.
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI)
Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a multinational video game company with headquarters in Santa Monica, California, United States. The company was founded on October 1, 2008, following Activision and Vivendi Games merger.
Activision Blizzard is the largest gaming company globally, and it also owns franchises like Diablo, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty. In addition, it develops and publishes games for game consoles, handheld game devices, personal computers, and mobile phones.
The company has also acquired divisions such as Bizarre Creations (creators of the Project Gotham Racing series), Luxoflux (developers of Guitar Hero), RedOctane (creators of the popular Guitar Hero franchise), and Scary Kids Scaring Kids.
The Company operates through Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, and King Digital Entertainment. Activision Publishing focuses on interactive entertainment products and software used by players to play their favorite video games. Blizzard Entertainment focuses on the development of narratively driven first-person action role-playing games and other games such as card games and online competitions. King Digital Entertainment focuses on developing free-to-play social casino games for mobile platforms such as iOS and Android devices.
Activision Blizzard Incorporated has been in business for over two decades, and it continues to uphold its leadership position in the global interactive entertainment industry.
Activision Blizzard Stock
The company’s shares had gained more than 400% since 2010 when Call of Duty became one of the most popular bands in the world.
But not all is good news for Activision Blizzard. The company has been criticized for its lack of diversity in the games primarily aimed at male players between the ages of 18 and 34. This has contributed to a significant drop in its stock price over the past two weeks, after reports that fewer people were playing its games.
Activision stock is currently trading at $58.60 (-0.80%) with a 52-week interval 56.40 – 104.53 (-31.81%) with a market capitalization of $45.64 billion and valued at 39.53 billion and a market value of $43,643 billion.
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA)
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is a video game company that develops and publishes games for various platforms. EA is based in California, United States. The company was founded on May 28, 1982, by Trip Hawkins, the company’s first head. EA has been a leading publisher of video games since the 1990s. In recent years, they have been publishing more and more mobile games and movie-based tie-ins.
EA has been generating a lot of revenue from these new sources of income, and it seems like their profits will only keep growing from here on out! Every month EA games are downloaded by more than 100 million people across the globe.
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) ‘are primarily known for their sports-related video games, like Madden NFL and NBA Live. However, EA is also behind top franchises like The Sims, Battlefield, and NHL Hockey. As a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ, EA has more than 125 million active players each month and generates over $4 billion in revenue every year. As such, EA shares are an excellent way to invest your money for your future.
There are a lot of companies out there that deal with digital entertainment, but EA is one of the largest and most successful. With a market capitalization of over $5 billion, it’s also one of the most profitable games companies in the world. This makes it a great investment opportunity. Here’s why you should consider adding a little bit of EA to your portfolio.
EA has been profitable for several consecutive fiscal years with strong operating margins and robust cash flows from operations.
Stock of Electronic Arts Inc. (EA)
EA stock are trading at $125.64 (+0.51%) in the 52 week range of 120.08 – 150.30 ( -8.65%) with a market capitalization of $35.53B, with a market cap of $35,532B. In 2020 was $5.54 billion with earnings of $3.04 billion. This company will continue to be one of the strongest stocks on the market as it continues to produce high-quality games for the people who want to play.
Take-Two Interactive’s (TTWO)
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment, delivering titles across current generation consoles, PC, smartphones, and tablets.
Take-Two Interactive has been around for a long time–in fact, it’s been in business for more than two decades. In 1999, the company went public as an independent company instead of being owned by a giant media conglomerate. In 2013, Take-Two Interactive was ranked as the third-largest video game publisher in the U.S., with annual revenue of $2 billion.
The Company develops and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Take-Two also distributes games from third-party developers. Take-Two’s portfolio includes franchises such as Sid Meier’s Civilization®, NBA 2K®, Borderlands®, BioShock®, Red Dead Redemption®, Evolve™, World of Warcraft® and WWE® 2K.
TTWO owns two of the world’s most popular video game franchises under Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.
Take-Two Interactive has had a few years of being stagnant in stock price growth. However, TTWO has been repositioning itself to be more player in the new gaming landscape with substantial success. In addition, TTWO has shown that it is more than just an old-school console gaming company.
Stock of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO)
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) is a public company traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. The stock price is trading at $165.60 (-0.47%) with an approximate market capitalization of $19.09 billion. In 2020, they reported a net income of $3.09 billion and approximately $404.46 million.
Zynga ( NASDAQ: ZNGA )
Zynga is an American developer of social games for mobile devices, online social networks, and the internet. Zynga’s vision is to connect the world through games. It was founded in July 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, CA; Zynga was co-founded by Mark Pincus, Michael Luxton, John Schappert, and Eric Schiermeyer. Zynga states that its games are played by over 250 million people across Web and mobile platforms, making it one of the most popular game developers in the world.
Zynga’s best game titles include FarmVille, Words With Friends (also known as SpellTower), CastleVille (known as CityVille 2 in some countries), Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars 2, Chefville (known as DinerTown Tycoon in some countries), Empires & Allies (known as Fashion Story in some countries) and Dream Zoo.
Zynga’s motto is “Where The World Comes To Play.”
Since its inception, Zynga has been a significant player in the mobile gaming industry. Initially, their primary focus was on social games for Facebook. But now, Zynga is branching out into other areas of mobile gaming thanks to its acquisition of Draw Something for $180 million.
Zynga’s CEO Pincus sees this as an opportunity to create more interactive, creative, and collaborative games. The company is working with small developers and large publishers to make these new titles happen. They are also looking at reaching gamers through platforms like Apple TV and Google Glass.
And now, they’ve decided to take their skills off the screen and into the world of physical play with their newest venture: Zynga City.
Zynga City is an immersive new destination where you can explore the many facets of pop culture, from movies and TV to music and art. You can also shop for products inspired by your favorite shows, bands, artists, and celebrities. But wait! It doesn’t stop there!
There are also tons of other features at hand. For example, you can choose where you want your next adventure to be based on what you love best: games, entertainment, or shopping.
The future of Zynga seems bright whether they make it big in mobile gaming or not. There are many different opportunities to explore in the digital world with their recent acquisitions. Zynga is an innovative company that will surely be a top player in the digital age for years to come.
Stock of Zynga Inc. (ZNGA)
Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) became a public company in 2011. The stock is trading at $6.24 (-1.58%) with a 52-week range between 5.57 – 12.32 with a market capitalization of $6.99 billion. In 2013, Zynga reported revenues of $1.32 billion and net income of $41.9 million in fiscal 2020.
Zynga needs to find new ways to stay relevant in the ever-changing gaming industry. One way to do this is to acquire promising technology companies like Gram Games, which will help Zynga expand beyond its traditional web-based browser games.
Capcom ( OTC: CCOEF )
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher that, and publisher that specializes in games for consoles, handhelds, and mobile phones founded in 1979. They are best known for the Street Fighter, MegaMan, Resident Evil, and Ace Attorney series.
Capcom is now ranked as Japan’s second-largest video game developer after Nintendo.
The company has offices in Tokyo and Kyoto, employing around 2,000 people.
Capcom’s key strategy is to create games on popular franchises and sell them at a profit even if they’re not made very well.
It also publishes video games for other developers via its Capcom Partners division.
According to the company’s second annual report, Capcom had offices located in Osaka, Fukushima, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. The Osaka office was responsible for the bulk of the arcade system board production. Hiroshima became accountable for converting Capcom’s coin-operated games to other formats such as Game Boy and Sega Master System. Finally, San Francisco became the Western regional and American headquarters of Capcom’s North American operations.
Recently, Capcom announced that it is up to date on its tax withholding obligations owed to the Japanese authorities, and there is no impact from the Company’s past neglectful acts. In an interview at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona this week, CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto said that the company is back on track and reporting earnings next month. “I think we’re very positive we’re going to show a profit,” Tsujimoto said. “It’s not an issue anymore.”.
Stock of Capcom ( OTC: CCOEF )
Capcom Co., Ltd. has maintained a stable number of shares outstanding over the last five years, with an average of 22.8 million shares from 2018 -2020. The stock is trading at $25.50 with a 52-week range of 24.73 – 34.78 with a market capitalization of $5.23 billion.
Conclusion
Video game stocks are a new trend on Wall Street. However, video games have always been a growing market, and the industry reached about $138 billion in 2020. So if you are looking for a stock that will grow and pay future dividends, this may be the investment option for you.
Video games are now included in the traditional stock market, which can be traded like any other investment. This is because video games are now considered a true entertainment industry, not just a hobby. With over 1 billion players playing globally every week, the profit potential is enormous.
The video game industry’s growth has been fueled by its ability to innovate and diversify its customers with mobile, PC, console, and even virtual reality gaming platforms. That’s why it’s such an exciting field for investors and gamers.