COLMA, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Electronic Arts video games are displayed at a Target store on September 29, 2025 in Colma, California. Video game maker Electronic Arts is being acquired in a $55 billion deal with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF. The deal could become the largest private equity-funded buyout in history. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) begins its transition to becoming a private company, analysts are optimistic about the $55 billion deal — with one even calling it “a big win” for shareholders.
On Monday, EA announced it will be acquired in an all-cash deal by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. Shareholders will receive $210 per share, a 17% premium over EA’s all-time high in August.
Though there is a 45-day window to allow for other proposals, Morningstar Senior Equity Analyst Matthew Dolgin wrote in a Tuesday note that the deal is “all but certain to close” without any regulatory hurdles, given the Saudi government’s favorable relationship with the current U.S. administration, and a favourable premium for shareholders.
But while Wall Street may be celebrating, the gaming community might not share the same sentiment. For years, gamers have criticized EA’s lack of innovation and aggressive monetization tactics.
Poor gaming street cred
EA’s portfolio includes blockbuster franchises like EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA), The Sims, and Battlefield. But despite strong financials — EA has posted operational profits every year since 2015 — it has often drawn criticism from gamers.
In 2012 and 2013, EA was voted “Worst Company in America” by the now-defunct consumer advocacy website, Consumerist.com. In 2018, USA Today ranked it the fifth most hated company in the U.S. Much of the backlash stemmed from its reliance on live-service models, microtransactions, and controversial mechanics like loot boxes.
Gaming glossary:
Live service games: Games that are released and updated continuously, sometimes with limited time updates. Updates may be paid or free.
Microtransactions: Purchases of in-game items that users make with real money. Items can be either purely cosmetic or allow players to advance more quickly through a game.
Loot boxes: A container of random virtual items that are unknown to the player before opening them, and can be purchased with in-game currency or real money.
EA has also faced criticism for prioritizing sequels over new intellectual property. In a 2024 internal note reported by IGN, CEO Andrew Wilson stated that EA would “double down on owned IP, sports, and massive online communities.”
That same year, online magazine Inverse wrote: “Perhaps the most common complaint is that EA fails to innovate,” citing overpriced Sims 4 content packs, repetitive sports titles, and underwhelming sequels to legacy franchises.
The company also had the most downvoted comment on Reddit, after it tried to defend its stance over the long time taken to unlock content and characters in the 2017 Star Wars Battlefront II, even after buying the deluxe edition of the game.
The game’s loot box mechanics — while not exclusive to EA — also led to backlash from gamers, triggering European regulators to investigate whether the feature constituted gambling.
In November 2017, U.S. Senator Chris Lee called it a “predatory practice” from EA. “This game is a Star Wars-themed online casino designed to lure kids into spending money. It’s a trap,” he said in a press conference.
A creative reset or more of the same?
With EA no longer beholden to quarterly earnings reports, gamers may hope the company will take more creative risks. But analysts are divided.
“Of course, the company will be in a position to explore more creative games,” said Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities. “But that isn’t really something they are particularly good at — especially if current management remains in place.”
Pachter expects EA to double down on its live-service model and significantly grow its mobile gaming business under the PIF.
“I suspect the Saudis will roll out new mobile games for all EA Sports, Sims and Battlefield titles,” Patcher said, highlighting that the PIF, through Savvy Games Group, owns Scopely and Niantic, “two of the best mobile game publishers in the business.”
Michael Futter, founder of video game industry consultancy F-Squared, echoed this view. He noted that the deal will saddle EA with $20 billion in debt, pushing it to lean harder on stable revenue streams like “microtransactions, battle passes, FOMO-style [fear of missing out] rotating inventory [of] in [game] storefronts.”
A rotating inventory in a game storefront usually refers to sales of items or battle passes within a limited time, enticing players to buy them quickly or miss out.
Gaming glossary:
Battle pass: A tiered system which rewards players with virtual items for completing various objectives in gameplay, and may be offered in a limited time period. Some battle passes can be bought with real money.
Futter believes EA will consolidate around its safest franchises, such as The Sims, Battlefield, and sports titles, rather than experiment with new IPs.
“The debt hanging over their head isn’t likely to create a shift in strategy. Instead, it will likely see leadership entrench themselves in the titles they think have the largest revenue potential, even if those also carry the largest risk.”
He added, “I don’t know how EA is going to service this debt without significant layoffs, studio closures, and possibly IP sell-off.”
I don’t know how EA is going to service this debt without significant layoffs, studio closures, and possibly IP sell-off.
Michael Futter
Founder, F-Squared
But not all analysts are pessimistic. Nick McKay of investment banking platform Freedom Capital Markets believes the buyout could improve the long-term quality of EA’s games.
“It provides EA with the opportunity to step back from the public spotlight and invest in games they’re passionate about,” McKay said. It would allow for EA to try new things without being “penalized” by shareholders if a game didn’t do well, he pointed out.
“You don’t have to worry about a significant drop in your valuation, because… one of your new titles hasn’t worked. So actually, I think it could be a good thing for the long term quality of the release slate,” McKay said.
David Cole, CEO of DFC Intelligence, added that in the short term, EA may consider selling off some of its IPs to manage its debt. He cited the “Command and Conquer” series as an example of a franchise with historical value but limited commercial scale.
The last mainline Command and Conquer entry came out in 2012, with only a mobile game after that in 2018.
But in the long term, the company will have the freedom to explore some more options and take some more risk, he said.
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