Electronic Arts Goes Private: What EA's New Ownership Could Mean for Gamers
Teen Tech columnist Lillian Tyler explains why Electronic Arts is no longer publicly traded, how the company's new ownership could affect players, and what changes may lie ahead for EA games.
As of August 4, 2026, Electronic Arts (EA) is now a private company because it has been sold to Saudi Arabia’s private investment fund (PIF), Affinity Partners, and Silver Lakes. PIF takes up 93.4%, with the remaining 7% being split between Silver Lakes and Affinity Partners.
In an official statement by EA, “... stockholders will receive $210 in cash for each share of EA common stock they owned as of the closing.” Now, the business is no longer purchasable in the NASDAQ stock market.
Players may expect more AI integration because the company is AI forward. Moreover, according to video game journalist Jason Schreier, “more aggressive monetization, and other big cost-cutting measures” could also be implemented as the business grows. These monetization tactics could include price increases, microtransactions, subscription based media, etc.
There may also be some privacy concerns because the Saudi government may have direct access to personal data. Additionally, because the Saudi Arabian government has been reported to openly restrict human rights policies, it is plausible that EA games may undergo some censorship since PIF takes up the majority of EA’s company.
As for employees, “EA's change in ownership has long been expected to result in significant layoffs, which have already hit its subsidiary companies recently…” according to Screen Rant writer Kyle Gratton.
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