Bloody Hell, EA's Going Private? Let's Unpack This $50 Billion Rumour (and Who's Behind It)
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Rumours are swirling that Electronic Arts is on the verge of a colossal $50 billion buyout by a group of investors, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's firm, potentially taking the publisher private and raising significant questions about human rights and the ongoing consolidation of the gaming industry.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're just happily spelunking through the gaming news, minding your own business, and then BAM! A rumour drops that makes you wonder if you've accidentally cast a 'reality-warp' spell? That's precisely how I felt seeing the latest whispers about Electronic Arts.
This analysis is based on a report by Edwin Evans-Thirlwell for Rock Paper Shotgun, originally published on September 29, 2025, detailing a potential buyout.
Word on the digital street – specifically, from high-brow sources like the Wall Street Journal and Reuters – is that EA, the colossal publisher behind your *Battlefield* explosions, *Apex Legends* escapes, and *Mass Effect* space operas, is in "advanced talks" to go private. We're talking a cool $50 billion valuation here, mate. After 35 years of being a public company, trading shares like digital trading cards, they might just vanish behind a private curtain. And apparently, this whole shindig could be wrapped up quicker than you can say 'microtransaction'.
But here's where my wizard's hat starts to feel a bit heavy. Who, you ask, is reportedly behind this monumental move? Well, it's a consortium of investors, including the private equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Affinity Partners – the Saudi-backed investment firm founded by none other than Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Now, for us curious gamers, this isn't just about who owns the company that makes the games we love. This is about *who* those owners are and what their involvement might mean. Because, fair dinkum, if this deal goes through, studios like BioWare, Criterion Games, DICE, Motive Studio, and Respawn Entertainment could find themselves, at least in part, overseen by the investment arm of a state with a human rights record that's… let's just say 'complicated'. We're talking about a state that's seen criticism over its treatment of women and queer people, its execution of journalists, and the imprisonment of political dissenters. It's a bit of a head-scratcher, isn't it? Especially when you consider games like *Mass Effect* and *Dragon Age* have often been lauded for their diverse casts and inclusive storytelling. One can't help but wonder how that sits with everyone involved – especially the folks actually making those incredible worlds.
Reuters frames these hefty investments as part of Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" strategy, a rather ambitious plan to diversify the Kingdom's economy away from its heavy reliance on oil. Think of it like swapping out your mana potions for a more varied inventory of digital goods. And it's not the PIF's first rodeo in the gaming space, not by a long shot. They were, for example, rumoured to be in talks for a $2 billion investment with the notoriously acquisition-happy Embracer Group a few years back. Those talks apparently went south in May 2023, triggering a rather brutal period of mass layoffs and game cancellations – a grim reminder that not all magic spells work out as planned.
More recently, the PIF actually *did* acquire Scopely, the US publishers behind licensed hits like *Marvel Strike Force* and even the current developers of *Pokémon Go*. They also stumped up cash to fund a new *Assassin's Creed: Mirage* DLC pack, set in the historic city of AlUla, a move that apparently ruffled more than a few feathers internally at Ubisoft. And it's not just the big-name publishers. The PIF has been pouring colossal amounts of money into esports, acquiring companies and hosting tournaments, in what many observers have dubbed 'sportswashing' – an attempt to buff up their global image amidst those rather serious human rights concerns. Just this month, the PIF-backed company Qiddiya became a co-owner of the fighting game institution Evo, and Savvy Games already owns ESL FACEIT Group, who are orchestrating next year's much-hyped Esports World Cup in Riyadh.
As for the other two players in this alleged deal? Silver Lake, founded in 1999, once owned Skype and has also sunk a fair few doubloons into game engine powerhouse Unity and PC manufacturer Dell. Then there's Affinity Partners, Kushner's firm, which was founded in 2021 and has already received billions from the PIF, with Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman reportedly personally intervening to push the investment through. All of which has, predictably, led to a fair bit of scrutiny regarding whether Kushner's Saudi partnerships might have influenced his work in the US government. It's a tangled web, isn't it?
This rumoured EA buyout also slots rather neatly into the ongoing saga of gaming industry consolidation. It feels like every other week another mega-corporation is swallowing up a beloved studio or publisher. Microsoft, bless their cotton socks, completed their colossal acquisition of Activision-Blizzard last year, adding *Call of Duty*, *Diablo*, and even *Candy Crush Saga* to the Xbox family pot. And then there's Tencent, the world's largest videogame publisher, who've been hoovering up outfits like Riot Games, Sumo Group, and Funcom, while also taking significant stakes in Epic, Krafton, and Paradox Interactive. They even funnelled a big chunk of change into Ubisoft recently. It's like watching a real-time game of *Monopoly*, but with actual livelihoods and creative visions at stake. What does this relentless consolidation mean for variety, innovation, and ultimately, us, the players? It's a question worth pondering, I reckon.
Despite having seen "better-than-expected" revenue growth lately, EA has also had some significant disappointments in the past year or two. And they're currently betting rather a lot on *Battlefield 6*, with executives apparently hell-bent on attracting 100 million players – a number that sounds ambitious enough to make even a digital wizard like me raise an eyebrow. Whatever their current fortunes, it's a sadly plausible scenario that layoffs could follow any buyout. New overlords often like to 'optimise' their investments, and that rarely bodes well for existing staff. It’s a harsh reality in this industry, and one that always stings.
So, there you have it, mate. A rumour wild enough to make you spill your digital pint. A potential $50 billion deal that could reshape one of gaming's biggest players, bringing with it a whole host of questions about ethics, economics, and what it all means for the future of our beloved virtual worlds. It’s certainly more than just a simple financial transaction; it's a potent brew of geopolitics, corporate ambition, and the very culture of gaming itself. Let's keep our wands ready and our eyes peeled to see how this one truly unfolds.
Tags: Gaming Industry, EA, Acquisition, Investment, Consolidation
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun