On Sept. 29, video game company Electronic Arts announced in a press release it had agreed to an all-cash acquisition deal valued at $55 billion. According to the release, EA is to be acquired by a consortium of three investment firms consisting of Silver Lake, Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners.
Since EA’s founding in 1982, the company has developed and published dozens of popular games such as “EA Sports,” “Burnout,” “Dragon Age,” “Mass Effect” and “The Sims.”
EA has faced backlash from the gaming community for many years over its use of predatory business models such as microtransactions, live-service models and loot boxes in its games. Adding in a community consensus of a general lack of innovation in its products, many are not fond of the company, going as far as to vote it in as the fifth most hated company in America back in 2018.
Despite this discontent with the company, games made by EA continue to be wildly popular. For example, “The Sims 4,” one of EA’s most popular games, had a player count of 85 million players and a total revenue of $1 billion as of May 2024.
The acquisition of EA marks the end of the company’s 36-year stint as a publicly owned business. Some see this as a good opportunity for the company to try and be more creative with their games without having to meet quarterly goals, while others are concerned this deal could lead to censorship, job cuts and more predatory business strategies.
To understand why censorship is a concern, you need to understand two of EA’s new owners, PIF and Affinity Partners. PIF is an investment firm created for and by the Saudi Arabian government to expand the country’s economy and influence globally. The firm has been involved in the gaming scene for years now, owning small amounts of stock in many large gaming companies.
Affinity Partners was founded in 2021 by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former white house advisor. Affinity primarily invests in American and Israeli businesses, although a large portion of its funds comes from PIF. The firm was under investigation by Congress in 2024 over a lack of returns to investors and concerning deals with foreign governments.
The concern about censorship arises from the level of influence the Saudi Arabian Government has over EA. As a country with laws that have resulted in copious amounts of human rights violations, some players are concerned certain aspects of games like “The Sims” may be removed in an attempt to adhere closer to Saudi Arabian beliefs. “The Sims” built its fanbase around allowing players to experience hundreds of walks of life regardless of race, gender, ability or sexual orientation, leaving players concerned these perspectives will become limited with this new purchase.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson stated the deal will not change the company’s beliefs, although many remain skeptical.
The next two issues come from the nature of the acquisition. The deal was a leveraged buyout, meaning an ample amount of the money used for the purchase was borrowed. This borrowed money will leave EA $20 billion in debt.
Business insiders believe in order to pay off this massive debt, EA will most likely have to begin cutting off unnecessary baggage, selling less profitable pieces of intellectual property, game studios and cutting jobs to save money where they can. Some predict EA may end up having to cut all but its most profitable IPs, leaving only “The Sims,” “EA Sports” and “Battlefield.”
The acquisition is set to be completed in the first fiscal quarter of 2027. With the looming possibility of censorship and $20 billion to pay off, fans are rightfully cautious about the next steps EA takes.
