Gaikai reportedly wants to sell streaming game business for $500+ million

Cloud-based gaming company Gaikai is reportedly up for sale. The firm has already hired bankers to shop a deal that is expected to bring in over $500 million, according to sources as reported by Fortune.

If you aren’t familiar, Gaikai is a streaming video game company that is very similar in function to OnLive. The service hosts games on powerful remote servers, allowing the end user to play titles on a device that would otherwise not be powerful enough to run the game. Platforms that would benefit from a system like this include low-end notebooks or desktops, tablets and even smart TVs.

Gaikai launched in February 2011, generating nearly $45 million in venture capital in just over a year’s time and secured another $40 million from HTC. Investors include Benchmark Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, Intel Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Qualcomm Ventures. The company has been successful in working with partners like Electronics Arts, Facebook, YouTube and Walmart. Television makers LG and Samsung have both signed deals with Gaikai to bring the service to their smart TVs.

It’s too early to know who might acquire Gaikai but the publication thinks that it could be useful to gaming companies like Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony. Other ideas could include cable / broadband providers such as AT&T or Comcast or maybe even a large game publisher.

The Verge reached out to Gaikai for comment but came up empty-handed, as the company said they didn’t comment on what they characterized as rumors.