Online game maker EA purchased by Saudi-led group for $55bn | Games

Electronic Arts, the maker of video video games similar to The Sims, Madden NFL and Battlefield, has been purchased by Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and a bunch of traders for $55bn (£41bn).

The firm introduced the completion of the deal on Tuesday night, solely days after the EU gave its approval, the ultimate regulatory inexperienced gentle wanted.

EA is greatest recognized for its blockbuster sports activities video games together with EA Sports FC (beforehand known as Fifa). In what is among the largest buyouts on report, EA Games is being taken non-public, ending its 36-year historical past as a publicly traded firm.

The firm has been purchased by Saudi Arabia’s PIF together with Affinity Partners, a personal fairness firm run by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the non-public fairness agency Silver Lake Partners.

“EA has created stories, characters, and communities that have become part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of people,” Kushner stated. “We’re excited to support the company as it continues to reach new audiences, inspire the next generation of creators, and expand the ways people around the world connect through play.”

The Saudi royal household has been investing in video video games and esports for a while, alongside sports activities, media and comedy, whereas the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has a repute for being a gamer.

EA was based by the previous Apple worker William “Trip” Hawkins in 1982. Hawkins started taking part in analog variations of baseball and soccer made by Strat-O-Matic as a young person through the Sixties. The firm has been run by its present chief government, Andrew Wilson, since 2013.

EA’s video games nonetheless have a devoted fanbase, though its annual revenues have stagnated lately, hovering between $7.4bn and $7.6bn.

Competition from cell online game makers, similar to Epic Games, has intensified lately, and one in every of EA’s largest rivals, Activision Blizzard, was purchased by Microsoft for nearly $69bn in 2023.

As a personal firm, EA will now not be required to report its monetary outcomes every quarter, liberating it from some scrutiny, which some analysts say can take away some strain to fulfill targets.

skip past newsletter promotion

---

after e-newsletter promotion

However, there are sometimes job cuts and cost-cutting at previously public corporations when they’re taken non-public, though there has not been any suggestion that it will occur at EA.

The firm laid off about 5% of its workforce in 2024 however had 14,500 staff in March 2025 and reduce a number of hundred jobs in May.

On Monday, EA reported decrease than anticipated revenues within the final quarter, blamed on a decline in engagement with its newest Battlefield sport.