GAME sells Multiplay digital business to Unity in £19m deal

GAME Digital announced the sale of its Multiplay Digital business to Unity on Tuesday, in a £19m deal.

Multiplay Digital handles multiplayer servers for a range of titles including Minecraft, Killing Floor 2 and Day Z. Sales last year rose from £2.1m to £4.5m, although the company filed a loss of £800,000. This is claimed to be due to ‘significant investment’ in infrastructure and server technology.

This investment and increase in profit is reflected in the price Unity have paid. Multiplay was acquired by GAME in its entirety for $20m just under three years ago, and now this digital branch of the company, stripped of the esports and event business, is selling for nearly the same amount of cash.

Martyn Gibbs, GAME Digital’s CEO said in a press release: "This transaction is a significant strategic step forward for GAME Digital. By divesting Multiplay Digital we simplify the Group and focus management on accelerating development plans to fully capitalise on the strong growth potential in our exciting and growing esports activities, including BELONG.

“We now look forward to further developing GAME Digital as we seek to combine multichannel retail, events and esports. We are delighted to have transacted with such a strong new owner for our Multiplay Digital business and its highly talented team."

It’s a sure sign Unity are looking to start providing their own mutliplayer servers for their games, although it’s unsure how this will fare. 

A GAME spokesperson has confirmed that Multiplay founder Craig Fletcher will remain in his role with GAME.