Amazon is not planning for a bid for gaming giant Electronic Arts, despite rumours to the contrary on Friday.
Shares of Electronic Arts shot up on Friday, following the rumour published by a USA Today FTW and sourced by its content partner GLHF (Good Luck Have Fun), a Swedish media company.
The rumour was quickly shot down by CNBC reporter David Faber, who said: “I actually talked to the people who would know if something was going on and there’s nothing going on.” Amazon itself is yet to comment, neither has EA.
The story ran on USA Today’s For The Win gaming channel, but has now been recanted by the site with an editor’s note citing violations of its editorial policy regarding sources.
The update reads: “Editor’s note (10:37 a.m. ET): Earlier today, GLHF — a gaming/e-sports outlet and content partner of For The Win — ran a version of this story on our website that violated our editorial standards regarding the use of unnamed and unvetted sources. We have updated this story to remove all mention of those sources.”
Perhaps the reason this outright rumour gained so much steam so quickly was because it seemed quite realistic. Electronic Arts has reportedly been shopping itself and seeking a buyer over the last few years. Indeed, Apple, Amazon and Disney have been rumoured to be interested.
Amazon is used to making big splashes and is increasingly involved in the gaming realm. It has owned Twitch for years now and also runs its own cloud gaming platform in Luna.
A purchase of a major studio like Electronic Arts would be the next big step and it would certainly be within the company’s budget to match the tens of billions Microsoft is splashing out on Activision Blizzard. We would certainly not be surprised if a bid was eventually forthcoming, despite the denial from reports shooting down the rumour.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.