Electronic Arts — the company behind The Sims, Battlefield, and EA Sports — is being sold to Saudi Arabia for $55 billion. It’s the largest leveraged buyout in history, and it should terrify every gamer on the planet. I’ve been covering EA’s DLC abuse for years, but this? This is something else entirely. This is the moment a repressive regime bought one of gaming’s most inclusive franchises — a franchise where same-sex relationships have existed since 2000 — while criminalizing the very communities that franchise celebrates. Let me explain why this deal is a disaster for everyone who plays games.
Updated April 2026.
The Deal: Saudi Arabia, Private Equity, and Jared Kushner
Here’s what’s happening: a consortium of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), US private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners is buying EA for $55 billion in cash. That’s $210 per share — a 25% premium over EA’s pre-announcement price. The deal is expected to close by June 2026.
Let me break down who these buyers are, because it matters:
- PIF (Saudi Arabia): The sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It already owned 9.9% of EA before this deal. PIF has $925+ billion in assets and has been on a massive gaming spending spree through its subsidiary Savvy Games Group — $37.8 billion committed to gaming investments, including $4.9B for Scopely and $6B for Moonton.
- Silver Lake: The private equity firm that helped Michael Dell take Dell private in 2013 (then the largest LBO ever at $24.4B). They’re using the same playbook with EA: buy with debt, restructure, extract value.
- Affinity Partners (Jared Kushner): Yes, that Jared Kushner. Trump’s son-in-law, former White House senior advisor, and current Middle East envoy. His firm received $2 billion from the Saudi PIF — despite the PIF’s own internal screening panel flagging “multiple red flags” about the investment (overruled by MBS). Kushner is simultaneously a US government official and a private equity investor profiting from the same foreign government he’s managing diplomatic relations with. Rep. Jamie Raskin has launched an investigation into these “foreign entanglements and staggering conflicts of interest.”
The financing structure is the real horror: ~$36 billion in equity plus ~$20 billion in debt from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. EA will carry roughly $20 billion in debt after going private. That debt doesn’t pay itself — you pay it. Through higher prices, more microtransactions, and less content for your money.
The Sims Community Is Revolting — And They’re Right
The most immediate and visceral reaction has come from The Sims community. And I don’t blame them one bit.
The Sims has been one of gaming’s most inclusive franchises since 2000 — same-sex relationships were in the very first game. For 26 years, The Sims has been a safe space for LGBTQ+ players to express themselves. Now that franchise will be owned by a regime where being gay is a criminal offense punishable by flogging, imprisonment, or death.
The response has been unprecedented. Major Sims creators have left the EA Creator Network en masse:
- James Turner — one of the biggest Sims YouTubers — announced his departure, saying: “With the news of the buyout and understanding who will be owning EA in the future, I plan on shifting our focus to include more variety.” He also asked to have his Creator Code removed.
- Plumbella (Jesse McNamara) — spoke out against the buyout and human rights concerns
- lilsimsie (Kayla Sims) — one of the most popular Sims creators, announced she was leaving the Creator Network and urged players to stop using her Creator Code, noting that EA benefits more from her early access content than she does
And they’re not alone — dozens of creators have followed. These are the people who provide EA with essentially free marketing for every Sims pack release. When your most loyal marketers quit rather than promote your product, something is deeply, fundamentally wrong.
EA’s response? The Sims team released a statement saying their “values of inclusivity, choice, creativity, community, and play” are “unchanged.” Andrew Wilson promised the company’s values will “remain unchanged.” Every acquired company says this. Almost none of them mean it.
OG Sims director Charles London — art director on The Sims 1, creative director on The Sims 2 — put it more honestly: “Diversity isn’t just critical, it’s existential for the business.” He also said “love is love and people are people.” I believe him. I don’t believe the people signing his paychecks.
The DLC Nightmare Is About to Get Worse
I’ve written before about EA’s DLC abuse — The Sims 4 costs over $1,000 to own everything. But here’s the thing: under private equity ownership, it’s going to get worse. Much worse.
Here’s how leveraged buyouts work: the buyers purchase the company using debt, then use the company’s own revenue to pay off that debt. EA will carry ~$20 billion in debt. That debt needs to be serviced — meaning EA needs MORE revenue, not less. The CEPR analysis is blunt: “Public backlash over a decade ago did not stop EA’s increasingly aggressive monetization practices, so they will likely intensify their microtransaction revenue streams to service the new debt.”
What this means in practice:
- More microtransactions — EA already makes ~70% of revenue from live services (Ultimate Team, Apex Legends, EA Play). That percentage will increase.
- More Sims packs at higher prices — The pack system that already costs $1,000+ will expand. Expect more packs, higher prices, less content per pack.
- Less single-player content — Private equity loves recurring revenue and hates one-time sales. Dead Space-style games? Even less likely than before.
- Less transparency — As a private company, EA won’t have to report quarterly earnings publicly. We won’t know how bad things are until we feel it in our wallets.
- Potential layoffs — Private equity’s favorite cost-cutting tool. Every major gaming acquisition in recent history has led to layoffs. Every. Single. One.
CNBC put it simply: “Going private could allow the firm more creative freedom, but analysts warn that being $20 billion in debt could push the company toward even more aggressive monetization.” I’ll be more direct: the creative freedom argument is a fantasy. Debt service is the only priority.
Sportswashing Just Leveled Up
Saudi Arabia has spent over $51 billion on sportswashing — using sports and entertainment investments to distract from human rights abuses and improve its international image. LIV Golf ($5.3B), the Saudi Pro League ($3B), Newcastle United ($400M), Formula 1 Saudi GP ($500M+), the 2034 FIFA World Cup ($50B+ hosting).
But gaming is the new frontier. Gaming reaches 3+ billion people globally — a larger audience than any traditional sport. And Saudi Arabia isn’t just sponsoring tournaments anymore. It’s buying the games themselves.
The EA deal is the single largest sportswashing investment in gaming history. It exceeds all of Saudi Arabia’s previous gaming investments combined. And it gives the Saudi government direct control over one of the world’s biggest game publishers — including franchises played by hundreds of millions of people.
Remember LIV Golf? Funded entirely by the PIF ($5.3B), attracted top players with massive contracts, was called “sportswashing at its worst” by Human Rights Watch. By 2026, reports suggest LIV Golf’s “usefulness to Saudi Arabia is over” and funding is being pulled. That’s the playbook: invest massively, extract the PR value, move on. What happens to EA when it’s no longer useful?
The Embracer Parallel Should Terrify You
If you want to know what happens when a gaming company goes on an acquisition spree fueled by outside money, look at Embracer Group. From 2020 to 2023, Embracer acquired 70+ studios. Then a $2 billion deal with Savvy Games Group — yes, the same Saudi entity — collapsed in 2023. What followed was catastrophic: 7,800 layoffs in two years, studio closures, IP selloffs. The CEO who led the acquisition spree left the company.
Or look at Sony’s acquisition of Bungie for $3.6 billion in 2022. Sony promised Bungie would remain independent. By 2025, Bungie had lost its independence and 50% of its workforce was laid off. Sony took full control.
Or Microsoft’s $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard deal. After 20 months of regulatory scrutiny, the deal closed — and 1,900+ people were laid off. Studios like Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin were shuttered.
The pattern is clear and consistent: every major gaming acquisition leads to layoffs. Private equity ownership specifically leads to cost-cutting, debt servicing, and reduced creative risk. The “values unchanged” promise is the same promise every acquired company makes — and rarely keeps.
What About The Sims’ LGBTQ+ Content?
This is the question that keeps me up at night. The Sims has allowed same-sex relationships since 2000. It’s one of the few mainstream games where LGBTQ+ players have always been welcome, always been represented, always been celebrated. It’s not a side feature — it’s fundamental to what The Sims is.
Saudi Arabia criminalizes same-sex relationships. Punishments include flogging, imprisonment, and the death penalty. This isn’t a “cultural difference” — it’s a fundamental conflict with everything The Sims represents.
Will Saudi ownership allow The Sims to continue featuring same-sex relationships? Andrew Wilson says values are “unchanged.” The Sims team says they’re committed to inclusivity. But here’s the thing: the people making these promises don’t control the company anymore. The PIF does. And the PIF answers to Mohammed bin Salman.
I want to believe The Sims will stay inclusive. I really do. But I’ve watched enough acquisitions to know that “values unchanged” lasts exactly as long as it’s convenient for the new owners. The moment inclusivity becomes inconvenient — the moment a Saudi official complains, the moment a market opportunity in a conservative country requires “adjustments” — the values will change. They always do.
The Regulatory Farce
You might be thinking: surely regulators will stop this? Don’t hold your breath.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter raising “profound concern about the foreign influence and national security risks” of the acquisition. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) called on both the FTC and CFIUS to scrutinize the deal. These are legitimate concerns — a foreign government is buying control of a major US media company.
But here’s the political reality: Kushner’s involvement “essentially forestalls any adverse federal regulatory action,” according to CEPR analysis. When the buyer includes the son-in-law of the current US president, who also serves as that president’s Middle East envoy, regulatory oversight becomes… complicated. Rep. Raskin is investigating Kushner’s conflicts of interest, but investigations don’t stop deals.
The EU may provide some scrutiny given EA’s significant European operations — Microsoft’s Activision deal faced extensive EU review. But the Microsoft deal still went through. Regulatory speed bumps, not roadblocks.
What Should Gamers Do?
I’m not going to tell you to boycott EA. Boycotts rarely work, and I don’t have the right to tell you how to spend your money. But I will say this:
- Be conscious of where your money goes. Every dollar you spend on EA products after this deal closes is a dollar that services $20 billion in debt owned by a consortium that includes the Saudi government. You’re not just buying a game — you’re funding the deal.
- Support the creators who left. lilsimsie, Plumbella, James Turner, and dozens of others sacrificed income and early access to take a stand. Follow them, support their non-EA content, and show them that principles matter.
- Watch, don’t trust. Don’t take “values unchanged” at face value. Watch what EA actually does — with pricing, with content, with LGBTQ+ representation, with workforce decisions. Actions, not words.
- Support alternatives. inZOI exists now. Indie life sims exist. If The Sims stops being the inclusive franchise we love, there are other options. Vote with your wallet.
- Stay informed. This deal is expected to close by June 2026. Pay attention to what happens after. The real test isn’t what EA says — it’s what they do when no one’s watching.
My Take: This Is a Turning Point for Gaming
I’ve been playing EA games for over two decades. I’ve criticized their DLC practices, their microtransactions, and their treatment of The Sims community. But I’ve also loved their games — The Sims, Battlefield, Dead Space. EA has always been a complicated relationship for gamers.
This buyout changes everything. It’s not just about more expensive DLC or worse monetization — though both are coming. It’s about who owns the games we play and what they represent. When a regime that criminalizes LGBTQ+ existence buys the most inclusive franchise in gaming history, that’s not a business deal. That’s a statement.
Saudi Arabia isn’t investing in gaming because they love games. They’re investing because gaming reaches 3 billion people and they want to control the narrative. The EA buyout is sportswashing at an unprecedented scale — and we’re the ones being washed.
The creator exodus gives me hope. When lilsimsie says EA benefits more from her content than she does, when James Turner walks away from his Creator Code, when dozens of creators choose principles over access — that’s the gaming community pushing back. That matters.
But it’s not enough. The deal is happening. The question isn’t whether EA will be sold to Saudi Arabia — it’s what we do about it. And the answer, for me, is simple: I’ll keep playing games I love, but I’ll never stop asking who profits from my playtime. And right now, the answer to that question makes me deeply uncomfortable.
The Sims taught me that love is love. The Sims’ new owners disagree. That’s the conflict that defines this moment in gaming history. And I’m not going to pretend it’s okay.
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