Saudi-led group completes $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (EA) is officially a privately owned company following the completion of its $55 billion USD (roughly $77 billion CAD) acquisition by a Saudi-led investment group.

The deal, first announced in September 2025, closed on August 4 after receiving regulatory approval in several global markets. The group includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, an investment company founded by Jared Kushner.

EA is no longer publicly traded following the acquisition. CEO Andrew Wilson will retain his position and continue working alongside EA president and chief studios officer Cam Weber and president and chief operating officer David Tinson.

The transaction is reportedly the largest leveraged buyout in history. Roughly $20 billion USD (around $28.1 billion CAD) of the purchase was financed through debt, raising questions about how EA may reduce costs while paying back the borrowed funds. The deal is also the second-largest acquisition in gaming history, behind Microsoft’s $69 billion USD (roughly $97.1 billion CAD) purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2023.

EA owns some of the industry’s largest franchises, including EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, Battlefield, The Sims, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age. The company also develops and publishes games such as the Star Wars Jedi series and Apex Legends. However, the publisher has faced several years of layoffs, cancelled projects, and slower growth across portions of its business.

EA recently reported first-quarter bookings of $1.35 billion USD (around $1.9 billion CAD), falling below analyst expectations of $1.48 billion USD ($2.08 billion CAD). The company attributed some of the decline to lower post-launch engagement for Battlefield 6, despite the game’s strong initial release.

The acquisition could also carry implications for EA’s Canadian studios, which the company operates many of. The publisher owns BioWare Edmonton, EA Vancouver, Full Circle in Vancouver, Motive Studio in Montreal, Metalhead Software in Victoria, and Glu’s Toronto team. It remains unclear whether the new owners intend to restructure any of EA’s studios or prioritize its largest established franchises over smaller projects.

PIF’s involvement has also drawn criticism over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and concerns that ownership could eventually influence creative decisions within franchises such as The Sims and BioWare’s role-playing games. There are concerns that creative decisions can now be influenced, leading to a reduction of themes and ideas across gender equality, LGBTQI+ inclusion, political angles, etc. Censorship or a reduction of free speech for Western voices could be impacted as a result of PIF.

EA has not announced any immediate studio closures, layoffs, or changes to its creative policies following the deal’s completion.