After acquiring Electronic Arts, Silver Lake and PIF are now said to be exploring a purchase of gaming software company Unity.
A Reuters account, based on private sources close to the situation, says PIF and Silver Lake, which already holds about 8% of Unity, recently reached out to the company. The group reportedly discussed a price near $25 billion before Unity’s newest earnings update, which pushed its market value to around $21.5 billion.
Unity is said to be working with an investment bank to review possible paths after the approach, though the discussions remain early and there is no certainty that anything will happen.
If the deal moves forward, it would mark another large move into the games business for Silver Lake and PIF. The two firms recently joined forces with Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners to buy Electronic Arts for $55 billion in a transaction completed in August. Since then, the publisher has begun major restructuring and studio closures, most recently ending work at BioWare and canceling the next Mass Effect game.
Unity’s widely used game engine and development tools have powered thousands of mobile, console, and PC titles. These include Genshin Impact, Hollow Knight, Among Us, Subnautica, and Beat Saber, among many others. Unity’s technology is also used by Scopely, the team behind Monopoly Go!, and Niantic, the creator of Pokemon Go, both of which are held by a consortium that includes Silver Lake, PIF, and Affinity Partners.
Silver Lake has already put $400 million into Unity, and its 8% holding makes it one of the company’s biggest shareholders. Since its 2020 public listing, Unity has grown beyond game development tools into ad tech and wider real-time 3D software, with its products now used more often in automotive design, film production, architecture, and industrial simulation.
Following the first reports of the talks, Unity shares climbed by nearly 15% in regular trading and were trading at $48.80 per share at the time of writing.
Tristan Ogilvie works as a senior video editor for IGN in Sydney, Australia. With 25 years in video game coverage, he previously held roles as Deputy Editor of Official PlayStation 2 Magazine Australia and Editor of Official Xbox 360 Magazine Australia before becoming part of IGN in 2009. You can follow him on Bluesky @tristanogilvie.bsky.social