Electronic Arts was acquired by a consortium led by PIF (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners in September 2025 for $55 billion, marking the largest gaming M&A deal of the year and one of the most controversial acquisitions in industry history.
The deal represents a leveraged buyout that takes one of gaming’s most established publishers private after nearly four decades as a publicly traded company. EA’s franchises include FIFA (rebranded as EA Sports FC), Madden NFL, Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, and dozens of other properties generating billions in annual revenue.
PIF’s involvement sparked immediate controversy given Saudi Arabia’s aggressive push into gaming through its Savvy Games Group subsidiary, which has invested billions acquiring studios and esports organizations. Critics question whether sports simulation franchises like FIFA and Madden should be controlled by a sovereign wealth fund with geopolitical objectives.
The acquisition dwarfs most gaming M&A except Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard purchase in 2022 and Take-Two’s $55 billion Zynga acquisition the same year. Industry observers view the deal as validation that major gaming publishers remain attractive targets despite post-pandemic revenue challenges.
For EA’s leadership, going private removes quarterly earnings pressure and shareholder scrutiny, potentially enabling longer-term creative investments. However, it also concentrates significant cultural influence over sports gaming under non-traditional gaming ownership.
Source: Statista