Hey everyone! Some of you may have already heard the news, but if you haven't: EA is being sold for $55 billion to private investors. This is so disappointing and concerning for a number of reasons. They are being acquired by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, of which Jared Kushner (Donald Trump's son-in-law) is CEO. PIF has been investing in EA and other gaming giants for a while now, but this take private offer means this group of investors will own 100% of the company. This is unprecedented. EA being entirely owned by this conservative group has me worried about future inclusivity and representation in the game, and I hope nothing changes in that regard. I think it's more likely that The Sims franchise would feel the effects of the cost cutting that could occur. I fear this could mean even more microtransactions down the line, or budget cuts and layoffs for the team working on the game. It's also possible that generative AI could be used as a cost cutting measure, which would be really, really disappointing. Kayla/lilsimsie just posted a video about this, and she did a great job explaining why many of us are concerned, so I'm linking it here.
The deal hasn't gone through yet, and there's a lot that could happen until mid 2026 when it is expected to be finalized. I hate to immediately go to worst case scenarios, but I'd be lying if I said this hasn't given me a lot to think about. I don't know exactly what to say right now, especially because nothing has actually happened yet and we don't know what effects this would actually have. I just wanted to let you know that I share in these concerns over what this means for The Sims, EA, and the gaming industry as a whole.
Outside of this, I hope your week is off to a good start and that you're taking care of yourselves ❤️
Sarah Kendall
Hey everyone! Some of you may have already heard the news, but if you haven't: EA is being sold for $55 billion to private investors. This is so disappointing and concerning for a number of reasons. They are being acquired by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, of which Jared Kushner (Donald Trump's son-in-law) is CEO. PIF has been investing in EA and other gaming giants for a while now, but this take private offer means this group of investors will own 100% of the company. This is unprecedented. EA being entirely owned by this conservative group has me worried about future inclusivity and representation in the game, and I hope nothing changes in that regard. I think it's more likely that The Sims franchise would feel the effects of the cost cutting that could occur. I fear this could mean even more microtransactions down the line, or budget cuts and layoffs for the team working on the game. It's also possible that generative AI could be used as a cost cutting measure, which would be really, really disappointing. Kayla/lilsimsie just posted a video about this, and she did a great job explaining why many of us are concerned, so I'm linking it here.
The deal hasn't gone through yet, and there's a lot that could happen until mid 2026 when it is expected to be finalized. I hate to immediately go to worst case scenarios, but I'd be lying if I said this hasn't given me a lot to think about. I don't know exactly what to say right now, especially because nothing has actually happened yet and we don't know what effects this would actually have. I just wanted to let you know that I share in these concerns over what this means for The Sims, EA, and the gaming industry as a whole.
Outside of this, I hope your week is off to a good start and that you're taking care of yourselves ❤️
Kayla's video: https://youtu.be/EBgBHDM-xwc
EA Press Release: www.ea.com/news/ea-announces-agreement-to-be-acqui…
AP article with more info: apnews.com/article/ea-electronic-arts-video-game-s…
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 434