Last month, the latest acquisition in the video game industry took place when an investor consortium comprised of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners acquired Electronic Arts for $55 billion, the largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history. When the news broke, many in the video game community voiced their concerns. Now, that concern has reached reached as far up as the government as US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren have sent a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who also serves as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, voicing their concerns over “foreign influence and national security risks” over the Saudi-funded acquisition.

Two US Senators have voiced “foreign influence and national security” concerns about the Saudi-funded acquisition of EA, asking CEO Andrew Wilson how it will ensure players’ personal information won’t be misused by the Saudi Arabian government.https://t.co/TcnxeuMAE2 pic.twitter.com/jGRDZn5cxV

— VGC (@VGC_News) October 16, 2025

“We write with profound concern about the foreign influencea and national security risks posed by the potential acquisition of American video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. (Silver Lake), and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners,” the letter reads. “In your capacity as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee), we urge you and the Committee to apply searching scrutiny to this unprecedented, proposed foreign privatization of a major American technology and entertainment company and request that you provide the PermanentSubcommittee on Investigations and Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs information on how CFIUS plans to ensure that the national security risks arising from the proposed acquisition may be mitigated. Your response will help Congress carry out its legislative responsibilities, including its consideration of how to address risks to national security.”

According to Blumenthal and Warren, the number of significant foreign influence and national security risks includes PIF’s reputation as a strategic arm of the Saudi government. Leveraging long term shifts in public opinion through the PIF’s investments, and Saudi Arabia’s desire to buy influence through the acquisition of EA.

“As Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF has made dozens of strategic investments in sports (including a bid for the U.S. PGA Tour), video games (including a $3.3 billion investment in Activision Blizzard), and other cultural institutions that “are more than just about financial returns; they are about influence.”

“Saudi Arabia is seeking to normalize its global image, expand its cultural reach, and gain leverage in spaces that shape how billions of people connect and interact.”

Blumenthal and Warren believe Saudi Arabia’s desire to buy influence is apparent on the face of the transaction – the investors propose to pay more than $10 billion above EA’s trading value for a company whose stock has “stagnated for half a decade” in an unpredictability volatile industry.

Blumenthal and Warren are also questioning the PIF’s decision to partner with Trum family member Jared Kushner who founded Affinity Partners. The firm previously received a $2 billion investment from the PIF over the objections of the PIF’s own investment screening board, which in Blumenthal and Warren’s eyes, “raises troubling questions about whether Mr. Kushner is involved in the transaction solely to ensure the federal government’s approval of the transaction. The three investors appear to betting $1 billion that Mr. Kushner can deliver the Trump Administration’s regulatory approvals.”

In addition to the potential to expand and strengthen Saudi Arabia’s  influence, Blumenthal and Warren also note how the deal will be compounded by the national secruity risks raised by the Saudi government’s access to and unchecked influence over the sensitive personal information collected from EA’s millions of users, its development of artificial intelligence (AI) technolgies, and the company’s product design and direction. “Access to users’ information by a repressive, authoritarian government poses significant potential risks of surveillance of Americans, covert Saudi propaganda, and selective retaliation and censorship of persons disfavored by the Saudi government,” Blumenthal and Warren wrote.

Blumenthal and Warren also note how the privatization of EA threatens to eliminate transparency into the company’s activities. EA would no longer be required to regularly report to the Secruities and Exchange Commission information about its activities, financial status, and future plans. The PIF’s control could extend to influencing or directing the company’s design, features, and product decisions to advance the Saudi government’s specific and long-term objectives. Blumenthal and Warren believe that the PIF would be well positioned to dictate or veto what stories are told to Americans through the popular medium of video games, controlling narratives about U.S. history and culture.

One analyst observed “Saudi Arabia clearly recognizes the politicial and cultural influence of video games, especially among young people.”

Blumenthal and Warren are asking for the CFIUS to conduct a thorough investigation of the foreign influence and national secruity risks posed by the proposed acquisition of EA by the PIF and report its findings publicly. They have asked for a staff briefing and detailed information to the following requests by November 4, 2025, and on an ongoing basis every two weeks thereafter:

1. How will CFIUS ensure that the sensitive personal information of American customers of
EA will not be misused by the PIF or the government of Saudi Arabia?

2. How will CFIUS “restrict foreign adversary access to United States talent and operations
in sensitive technologies (especially artificial intelligence)” with respect to the proposed
transaction?

3. Explain whether and the extent to which CFIUS will investigate and determine all facts
and circumstances relevant to national security to determine whether the PIF has the
capability to use its control of EA to take action to impair U.S. national security and
whether the PIF may seek to do so, as per Department of the Treasury guidelines.

4. Explain whether and the extent to which the PIF’s policies require investment decisions
to be based solely on commercial grounds, as per Department of the Treasury guidelines.

5. Explain in detail the reasoning supporting your conclusion to extend or not extend the
review and investigation period for the proposed transaction.

6. Explain in detail any communications you or any Treasury Department official or agent
have had with Jared Kushner, Affinity Partners, or any representative or agent thereof,
referring or relating to the subject of the proposed transaction.

7. Consistent with 50 U.S.C. § 4565(c)(2)(B), provide the Subcommittee with the following
notice and report transmitted to Congress pursuant to:

a. 50 U.S.C. § 4565(b)(3)(A) (Certified notice at completion of review or
assessment)
b. 50 U.S.C. § 4565(b)(3)(C) (Certified report at completion of investigation)