EA has officially been sold, and with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund now the majority shareholder in the video game company, talks are reportedly underway to merge it with Savvy Games Group, the gaming and esports holding company that’s also owned by the PIF.
Speaking to Bloomberg, sources said the PIF is aiming to foster “better coordination” between its gaming assets, and the merger could happen once it completes its plan to acquire Chinese mobile gaming company Moonton, a deal valued at $6 billion. The PIF also owns Pokemon Go developer Scopely and game publisher SNK, and it holds sizable stakes in video game publishers like Nintendo, Capcom, and Koei Tecmo.
The move could face scrutiny from regulators across the globe, however, as this would place several of the biggest gaming franchises in the world under one roof, including EA Sports FC, Battlefield, and mobile juggernauts like Monopoly Go. While EA’s acquisition is valued at $55 billion, the massive leveraged buyout has also saddled the game company with billions of debt that needs to be addressed.
The PIF is the majority owner of EA Games, with a 93.4% stake in the company, while its partners Silver Lake and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, own 5.5% and 1.1% of the company, respectively.
Employees fear that massive cost-cutting, projected layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations are on the horizon, as EA may be looking to reach $700 million in cost savings.
Developers at BioWare are already concerned with the future of EA and how the PIF might take issue with the studio developing pro-diversity games featuring inclusive storytelling and characters, which are fears that have been echoed by the developers of The Sims as well.