Saudi Arabia now has most of your favorite games, what will happen next?

by Jennifer Asensio
| Published 52 seconds ago

EA, the famous gaming company responsible for titles such as Summit: Myths, Mass effect, Dragon Age, Madden NFLand Simswas purchased in a deal worth $55 billion. Buyers include the Saudi royal family and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The move takes the company from being a publicly traded company to a private company, sparking speculation about EA’s future.

One consequence of taking the company off the stock market is that it will take on debt of about $20 billion. Staying afloat means significantly reducing its 14,500 employees, selling off intellectual property such as games, or spinning off some of the studios under the company’s umbrella. These studios include BioWare, which is responsible for Mass effect and Dragon Age; Codemasters, which produces F1 and Dirt; And Respawn, responsible for the popular eSports game Summit: Myths.

The Saudi royal family invested using its sovereign wealth fund. Many Saudi princes play video games, and the country was taking steps into e-sports and entertainment before that.

Should you have privacy concerns when playing EA games?

However, the involvement of Saudi government agencies raises questions about data privacy and social issues in games. Many EA properties are operated online, and user data is collected for marketing and through purchases.

Popular EA properties such as Sims It features LGBTQ content, and conservative social views in Saudi Arabia are seen as possibly conflicting with the inclusion of these themes in games. This concern is exacerbated by the presence of Jared Kushner in the deal, although his involvement is also expected to be merely to facilitate the purchase.

It’s doubtful that EA Games will sell any of its most lucrative flagship properties. Gaming has moved to a direct-service model, where games are digital and often free-to-play, with perks and add-ons available for separate purchase. EA has taken advantage of this model, generating criticism among players even while they are playing the games. Although many live service games fail, EA is sometimes responsible for some surprisingly strong games, and those games will likely never go anywhere.

EA developers will likely be laid off, and that could be a good thing

The most likely outcome would be for EA’s developers, many of whom will likely be laid off as buyers offset the $20 billion shift to private sector. Some projects have hundreds of developers, and critics claim that this surplus has done more harm than good to the brand.

It has long been known that AAA game studios try to solve problems by putting more developers on projects, but things get overlooked, resulting in bugs and glitches in the final product. EA is one of the giants in the AAA gaming space, and former employees have complained that the company uses this strategy to great effect.

The Saudis are legitimate players

Fans of EA products probably don’t have much to worry about overall. The most encouraging sign is that many of the young Saudi royals are gamers and fans of EA franchises themselves.

Without shareholders to answer, EA may take more risks on creative and original projects rather than rest on the laurels of its flagship titles. The effects of this purchase will change video game spaces, though whether that will be with new properties or new startups for former EA developers remains to be seen.

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