EA Sports sold for $55 billion, the Saudis never stop

Drew Smith
September 30, 2025
Trending
0 Comments

The Saudis are at it again. They don’t just buy golf leagues, comedians, and random flag football appearances from Tom Brady. Now they’ve scooped up one of America’s biggest gaming institutions in Electronic Arts, the parent company of EA Sports which sold itself for $55 billion in cash to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake.

Saudi Public Investment Fund purchases Electronic Arts and EA Sports for $55 Billion

EA (and EA Sports) have been SOLD for $55 Billion, and gone private

Buyers include Newcastle’s owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund 🇸🇦💰 pic.twitter.com/xxtNNLjr4H
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) September 29, 2025

EA has been public since 1990, but not anymore. Shareholders walk away with $210 per share, a 25 percent premium over last week’s price. On paper it’s a record-setting deal. In reality, it’s just another notch in the Saudis’ shopping spree.

The Saudis will never stop. They’ll keep buying up American companies and assets until there’s nothing left. What’s next? Is there any reason to stop at Electronic Arts and EA Sports? Why not continue to purchase America’s most prized assets?

At this point, sell of the rest of the country to the Saudis and private equity firms too. Houses, farmland, professional sports leagues, actual humans, you name it. Hell, my organs are probably worth $150k in ARR each so if someone can help set up a seed round, I’m ready.

Gamers, meanwhile, are left wondering if this actually changes anything. EA Sports titles have been trending downhill for years. Madden is a shell of what it was in the early 2000s. College Football 26 gets roasted on Reddit every week for being “laughably unplayable.” And no matter how many patches they release, EA refuses to fix the simplest problems.

Maybe new ownership forces a shakeup. Or maybe it’s business as usual, with more microtransactions and less fun. Leveraged buyouts are the kiss of death, and EA’s days are numbered no matter how much money they squeeze out of Ultimate Team packs.

At least the patch notes should be entertaining:

Sims: Added “throw from roof” animation for same sex couples.
Madden: Expansion franchises in Dubai.
College Football: American Islamic College (AIC) joins the SEC.
LIV Golf: Say hello to a LIV Golf video game.

Hell, I would also expect Islamic Prayer Times to be baked into the hours played in every game. Imagine hitting the open play game mode in a basketball game and once you join a game, you have to pause for prayer time. Horrifying? Sure, but if you’ve played EA games lately, it wouldn’t feel that out of place.

From a pure capitalism standpoint, this is the American Dream.

Build a company, cash out to the highest bidder, even if it’s a bunch of Islamic theocrats. I don’t really get the outrage. Personally, I’d take some of that sweet PIF money myself.

EA Sports. It’s in the game. Correction: it’s in the PIF.