Electronic Arts have reportedly acquired the Golf Clash creator PlayDemic from WarnerMedia for $1.4 billion in cash as it expands its sports games portfolio. That’s a lot of money for a development studio that only has one game that can be played freely, but Golf Clash has been a big moneymaker with over 80 million downloads in the last four years. Warner Bros. Games Playdemic is a mobile game studio and developer of popular games such as Golf Clash, known for letting players play in real-time.

The deal was agreed between EA and AT & T and its WarnerMedia unit, which says EA has agreed to pay a staggering $1.4 billion in cash. This means EA doesn’t have to work nearly as hard to make a steady profit for the studio in the UK.

AT & T and its WarnerMedia division are to take over, subject to customary regulatory approvals. For AT & T, the sale of PlayDemic will help the company pay off the significant debt burden from the spin-off, merger, and discovery of WarnerMedia.

The companies said. WarnerMedia recently merged with Discovery in a $4.3 billion deal to create an independent media and entertainment company. Electronic Arts said that Warner Bros’ remaining games portfolio will become part of the newly announced merged company WarnerMedia-Discovery when the deal closes, which is expected in mid-2022.

Electronic Arts will strengthen its position in the $13.84 billion video game market. Its success is based on desktop and console titles, including titles from its most popular franchises such as Battlefield, Star Wars, and Titanfall. Electronic Arts, Inc. provides advertisement services and licenses its games to third parties to distribute and host the games.

EA is also working on a major Triple-A game, Battlefield 2042, and is investing heavily in mobile game projects such as Battlefield Mobile. Although Playdemics has been paid seven times by revenue, the hefty price tag is a sign that sometimes strong takeover activity can drive up company valuations. $1.4 billion, aided by $4.3 billion in debt related to deals like the spin-off of WarnerMedia and Discovery.

The acquisition of PlayDemic is part of Electronic Arts’ mobile growth strategy that is focused on delivering exciting new experiences to the Electronic Arts network of over one billion players around the world. The $1.4 billion deal to acquire AT & T and WarnerMedia’s mobile game studio Playdemic is in line with Electronic Arts’ growth strategies in sports and mobile, which are focused on delivering the most exciting experiences to billions of gamers. The combined entity is a significant addition that should strengthen Electronic Arts (EA) ‘s portfolio in a fast-growing genre.