In early October, Electronic Arts games, otherwise known as EA games, officially plans to be acquired by Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in an all cash deal that will officially close early 2027.
EA was previously purchased for $55 billion dollars. Saudi Arabia’s PIF is the main buyer, and they already own a 9.9 percent investment stake in the company. This transaction will just be a rollover on that investment, in terms of how it will be carried out.
EA games is most notable for its blockbuster franchises like FIFA, Madden NFL, Battlefield, and The Sims. EA has been slowly becoming one of the more popular game companies in recent years while they’ve always held a sense of popularity, they’ve reached new heights these most recent years.
There are hopes that the acquisition will tap a new market of gamers in the Middle East. However, there are some worries from many gamers that the inclusivity shown within the games, most specifically the Sims will either be backtracked on, or removed completely due to the censorship laws of where these new owners are based.
The Sims for example has had openly queer and LGBTQ+ themes within their games, having things like pride flags and gay marriage on the cover of the marriage expansion pack. The Sims has already faced a lot of controversy regarding their queer inclusion from both sides of the spectrum, those who wanted it and those who criticize it. However, outside of the social politics of the game there’s also a lot of criticism in recent years about the companies use of micro transactions in all of their more recent games.
Returning to the Sims for example, the original three Sims games had features that were completely free, however, the newest and most popular Sims game, Sims 4 has those features behind pay walls and expansion packs.
Many believe that this new deal with Saudi Arabia, Silverlake, and affinity partners will only exasperate the issues. No longer is EA charging right out of the gate what the game is worth, but rather restricting play features until they’re paid for.
However this EA deal is just one part of acquisition deals happening by the Saudi Arabia company, as Saudi Arabia has invested billions to acquire stakes in companies like Activision Blizzard, Capcom, Embracer Group, Nexon, Nintendo, and Take-Two Interactive in recent years. They have stakes in two different Eastport leagues, and are making their own games. It almost seems as if there’s a slow monopoly forming in the Triple A gaming industry.
Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and their offshoot game company Savvy Games Group, all owned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler since 2015, has been investing into the gaming industry hoping to grow it, in order to have a revenue of $300 billion by 2028. Saudi Arabia is also planning to expand into the ESports market. Its Qiddiya Esports and Gaming District, part of the Qiddiya entertainment and tourism project in Riyadh, will become a hub for gaming. It aims to “attract 10 million visitors a year to its venues by 2030, and incubate 30 leading video game development companies.”
All of this shows that the Middle East is becoming more and more involved in the gaming industry. It’s unclear as of right now how games will be affected by this new market of gamers, especially regarding censorship laws. However, a lot more money is being invested into this industry than ever before. The gaming industry now more than ever is a valuable industry as we move into the modern era, it’s no longer just an afterthought and can hold its own against industries like fashion, food, music, and so on.
With the backing of Saudi Arabia, it is likely that games that weren’t even bought by them will also receive the benefits that EA and other companies are receiving. However, this might be a one step forward, two steps back situation at the cost of representation, but only time will tell.
