Saudi-led group acquires Electronic Arts for $55 Bn

Electronic Arts, the maker of video games such as The Sims, Madden NFL and Battlefield, has been bought by Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and a group of investors for $55bn (£41bn).

The company announced the completion of the deal on Tuesday evening, only days after the EU gave its approval, the final regulatory green light needed.

EA is best known for its blockbuster sports games including EA Sports FC (previously called Fifa). In what is one of the biggest buyouts on record, EA Games is being taken private, ending its 36-year history as a publicly traded company.

The company has been bought by Saudi Arabia’s PIF along with Affinity Partners, a private equity company run by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

“EA has created stories, characters, and communities that have become part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of people,” Kushner said. “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 family has been investing in video games and esports for some time, alongside sports, media and comedy, while the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has a reputation for being a gamer.

EA was founded by the former Apple employee William “Trip” Hawkins in 1982. Hawkins began playing analog versions of baseball and football made by Strat-O-Matic as a teenager during the 1960s. The company has been run by its current chief executive, Andrew Wilson, since 2013.

EA’s games still have a dedicated fanbase, although its annual revenues have stagnated in recent years, hovering between $7.4bn and $7.6bn.

Competition from mobile video game makers, such as Epic Games, has intensified in recent years, and one of EA’s biggest rivals, Activision Blizzard, was bought by Microsoft for almost $69bn in 2023.

As a private company, EA will no longer be required to report its financial results each quarter, freeing it from some scrutiny, which some analysts say can remove some pressure to meet targets.

However, there are often job cuts and cost-cutting at formerly public companies when they are taken private, although there has not been any suggestion that this will happen at EA.

The company laid off about 5% of its workforce in 2024 but had 14,500 employees in March 2025 and cut several hundred jobs in May.

On Monday, EA reported lower than expected revenues in the last quarter, blamed on a decline in engagement with its latest Battlefield game.

-The Guardian