The PIF’s (Public Investment Fund) acquisition of EA has probably been one of the biggest news stories for gaming this past year (somehow still smaller than anything related to Grand Theft Auto VI). Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of EA has been met with criticism and concern from many across the industry, largely citing the human rights abuses that have taken place under the Saudi government, but it seems money talks and the PIF has not experienced any setbacks so far; the PIF would spend $55 billion to acquire EA, and as of now owns 93.4% of the company. Besides the aforementioned human rights abuses under the Saudi government, others have cited Saudi Arabia’s conservative positions on LGBTQ issues as cause for concern, with notably many The Sims creators raising worry about the deal and how it would impact games such as The Sims which allow for diverse expression of gender and sexuality. However, Maxis, the developers of The Sims and other games (including the legendary Spore) would state in January 2026 that nothing would change for them creatively following the deal, and that their control over their franchises would remain “unchanged”.
Now, the PIF is considering merging EA with that of Savvy Games Group, which itself is a Saudi Arabian video game investment, development, publishing, and Esports holding company. According to Bloomberg, this is being done in order to “ensure better coordination between its assets”. Savvy Games Group currently owns stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon, Take-Two Interactive, Activision-Blizzard, and Koei Tecmo, and is currently trying to acquire Moonton, Chinese mobile game company, for $6 billion, but due to the ongoing acquisition of Moonton however, the EA-Savvy merger may not happen until the former is complete. This is all certainly shocking for those who have grown up playing EA games from the time they were young to seeing it experience a massive takeover by the Saudi government. It spells possibly more significant change down the line, with power moving between different parties as we enter a new era for the gaming world.