Saudi Fund to Own Almost All of Electronic Arts After Buyout

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/saudi-fund-to-own-almost-all-of-electronic-arts-after-buyout-661e92be

https://archive.ph/2025.12.02-183650/https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/saudi-fund-to-own-almost-all-of-electronic-arts-after-buyout-661e92be

198 points · 42 comments · view on lemmy.world

42 Comments

psx_crab@lemmy.zip · 61 pts · 244d (2 replies)

Ohh do they wanna move their hq to Saudi and name it EA Nasir?

DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 15 pts · 244d

Racist against Babylonians tbh, Ea Nasir would never treat customers like EA does.

MDCCCLV@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 243d

It's basically in Arabia if not specifically saud, who's an illegitimate conqueror. That gives you a surprising steam pipe Valve reference but that means they wouldn't do that.

Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 50 pts · 244d

Ok, wasn't going to buy EA games anyway

Gullible@sh.itjust.works · 34 pts · 244d (1 reply)

Well, there goes the performative progressive values.

regedit@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 244d

Now we'll get those actionable regressive values! FUCK YEAH!

theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 31 pts · 244d

EA about to be more dead and soulless than it already is.

massive_bereavement@fedia.io · 15 pts · 244d (16 replies)

I wonder what EA IPs have just died right now?

rozodru@pie.andmc.ca · 14 pts · 244d (5 replies)

mass effect? honestly that's all I can think of off the top of my head. They'll start pumping out more Battlefields, more sports, more money into UFC games and I would bet good money they'll try to buy the license for WWE games from 2k. Saudi's love their WWE.

Sas@piefed.blahaj.zone · 10 pts · 244d (1 reply)

Sims surely will either be cut or completely overhauled. It's way too queer for them.

Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 239d

Isn't it just like free/cheap revenue now that they have no plans to make future Sims games anyway? If they really dislike it I am sure they could find a buyer for it readily.

athatet@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 243d (2 replies)

Was mass effect not already dead? Last game was andromeda and people didn’t like it and no news on another one.

rozodru@pie.andmc.ca · 1 pts · 243d

they announced a new one awhile back but I don't think it's going to go anywhere. but yeah Andromedia was bad, I couldn't even make it past the very first planet.

Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 243d

They announced a new one a few years ago alongside the Legendary Edition remaster of the original trilogy, but I don't think we've heard anything about it since the announcement teaser.

DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 244d (3 replies)

The "strike" series? Oh wait that was already dead.

Command and conq--- no no no already dormant.

Oh! How about Road Rash---

Yeah nothing of value is going to be lost

MoonMelon@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 244d (1 reply)

They really desecrated Dungeon Keeper. IIRC it was so filled up with mobile game, microtransaction garbage you couldn't even dig blocks of dirt more than once a day without buying "gems".

Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 243d

Luckily we have War for the Overworld to pick up where they failed.

calliope@retrolemmy.com · 2 pts · 244d

SSX series—? Err

misk@piefed.social · 10 pts · 244d (3 replies)

It would make sense to sell every IP they can piecemeal to get some return on this investment.

If I had to guess then Saudi (or MBS) wanted EA FC which can now return to being EA FIFA now with extra Ronaldo. Saudi have enough influence over FIFA via PIF to make this happen.

massive_bereavement@fedia.io · 7 pts · 244d (2 replies)

Maybe I could buy Road Rash?

prettybunnys@piefed.social · 3 pts · 244d (1 reply)

I’ll throw a few bucks your way if you promise to make a new road rash

SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 243d

Maybe just check out Road Redemption?

p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 244d

Oh no... not my sports IPs.

Anyway...

Flames5123@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 244d

Need For Speed for being anti authority? Honestly, I have been missing a new NFS game. The last one came out in 2022, and the longest wait between them since 1994 was 3 years… Definitely didn’t play them all, but the last two, Heat and Unbound, were surprisingly good.

regedit@lemmy.zip · 15 pts · 244d (5 replies)

Wouldn't it be funny if the reason they bought EA was because there's some die-hard Saudi zoomer who loves games, has a butt load of money, and wants to make great games. Maybe they do a 180° on some of their best IPs and lower the price to make gaming more accessible to more people. It's what I would have done if I had more money than I knew what to do with! A girl can dream. <3 <3

embed_me@programming.dev · 15 pts · 244d (2 replies)

Plausible except the part about good, affordable games

Grumpy@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 244d

Yeah. If there's a Saudi that is rich enough to buy EA on a whim, he'd definitely think $1000 for a game is very cheap and don't understand what pricing issue exists.

regedit@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 244d

Right? Capitalism gotta capitalize on all that capital, sitting around in our bank accounts, when it could be sitting around in THEIR bank accounts!

dubyakay@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 244d (1 reply)

That Saudi Zoomer Milennial is actually MbS. He got rid of the wahhabists so he can nerd out more.

SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 243d

Yeah some of the mega projects he's tried to build are straight out of Star Wars. Some look like Luke Skywalker's home and the concept art for The Line looked like Coruscant.

If he wasn't a scumbag murderer he'd be almost likable.

SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works · 12 pts · 244d (3 replies)

Electronic Farts amirite

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 1 pts · 243d (2 replies)

EA will stand for Evil Assholes after the buyout.

SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 243d (1 reply)

Just after?

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 1 pts · 243d

Colloquially before, officially after.

dimjim@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 244d (3 replies)

I can only hope that they sell off Mass Effect to a better company, but I wont get my hopes up

YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 6 pts · 244d (1 reply)

Wouldn't give up to much hope in either direction, cause of they do sell it only one of the existing bigger houses are going to be the only ones able to afford it. Although could you imagine a Larian mass effect?

dimjim@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 243d

I would CREAM over a Larian Mass Effect

MDCCCLV@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 243d

100% they'll sell off the gay games

Darkness343@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 244d (5 replies)

I hope the Saudis fix dragon age.

DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 9 pts · 244d (3 replies)

Qunari Age incoming where it's revealed they're "the good guys," no notes, slavery and all

Cyberflunk@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 244d (2 replies)
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Darkness343@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 244d (1 reply)

Yeah, bring back Sten

Cyberflunk@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 243d
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FatVegan@leminal.space · 2 pts · 244d

Oh they will. No more annoying women in games and everyone you kill is gay