"Game On" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

ODDS FAVOR NO EA DEAL: After Puck reported on Friday that Electronic Arts (EA) has been looking to sell itself or merge with an entertainment asset, Jefferies analyst Andrew Uerkwitz said Disney (DIS) and Apple (AAPL) "should buy a gaming asset," but added that he believes Disney wouldn't be seriously interested in acquiring a studio while Apple "seemingly has shunned gamers for decades." Amazon (AMZN) "makes more sense" and acquiring a studio like EA is "believable," but he continues to believe the probability favors no deal over a deal for EA over the next several quarters. Nonetheless, his "imagination can make several deals make sense on paper," Uerkwitz told investors. The analyst, who added that the possibility of a deal likely puts a floor in the stock and adds a takeout premium to any multiple, has a Buy rating and $165 price target on EA shares.

Also commenting on the news report, Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok said that while news of a major gaming industry transaction can no longer be classified as surprising, EA's moves are at least "somewhat unexpected," especially after its own acquisition streak over the past year-plus. Marok, who made no change to his Outperform rating on EA shares, added that a Comcast (CMCSA) deal would "not be the worst fit," but would take some adjusting, while Disney "makes the most sense."

Citing Puck, Ethan Gach of Kotaku said that EA has recently pursued a merger with NBCUniversal and also held potential acquisition talks with Disney, Apple, and other companies. While these deals are not currently in the works, it appears that EA will continue working on these plans.

"Several sources familiar with these talks say EA has been persistent in pursuing a sale, and has only grown more emboldened in the wake of the Microsoft (MSFT) - Activision (ATVI) deal. Others say that EA is primarily interested in a merger arrangement that would allow Wilson to remain as chief executive of the combined company," wrote Dylan Beyers of Puck, according to Kotaku. Reportedly, the deal with NBCUniversal got the furthest along, but fell apart due to price, Beyers reported. "

MICROSOFT, ACTIVISION DEAL: Microsoft president Brad Smith told Belgian publication L'Echo that the company's proposed $68.7B takeover of Activision Blizzard is moving forward relatively quickly, VideoGamesChronicle's Tom Ivan reported on Thursday. At the time of the deal announcement, the Xbox maker said it was aiming to complete the deal in the first half of 2023. The U.S. FTC is handling an antitrust investigation of the deal, and Smith told L'Echo that the company has also received requests for information on the matter from European and U.K. competition regulators, the author noted.

OTHER STORIES TO WATCH:

CD Projekt says next-generation "Witcher 3" version to release in Q4. [read more here]
Xbox Series S outsold PlayStation 5 in Japan last week. [read more here]
Take-Two (TTWO) and Zynga's (ZNGA) stockholders approve proposals related to pending transaction. [read more here]
NLRB says Activision Blizzard illegally threatened staff. [read more here]
Activision studio workers vote to unionize. [read more here]
Saudi Arabia's PIF acquires 5.01% stake in Nintendo (NTDOY). [read more here]