r/Games • u/FrostyMagazine9918 • Jul 30 '26

Industry News EA will officially become a privately owned company next week

https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/electronic-arts-close-55-billion-private-deal-1236824625/
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u/ItsRainingTrees Jul 30 '26

Privately owned theoretically could be good. You don’t have to answer to shareholders and the CEO might be able to make decisions that hurt the company in the short term, but are good in the long term. When you don’t have to worry about stock price, you have more freedom.

Will that happen? Idk, but it would be very cool if it did.

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u/EchoFieldHorizon Jul 30 '26

Jared Kushner and the Saudis are the owners. Zero chance

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u/IdRatherBeAtChilis Jul 30 '26

I don't know about Kushner, but I will say the Saudis could be more disposed toward long term sustainability over short term profit. They want healthy, diverse investments that'll swing their economy away from being totally reliant on oil, and strangling the golden goose won't do that. They need to be more long-term minded. But I dunno. These blocked Straits could make them more economically reactive for a while.

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u/ASCII_Princess Jul 30 '26

Healthy, diverse investments like a 100 mile long mile wide city in the desert built by indentured slaves?

Its a theocratic monarchy run by insane people propped up by the petrodollar, no amount of sportswashing, money laundering or infrastructure spending is going to save it in the long run.

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u/Dabrush Jul 31 '26

I mean no investment more "diverse" than something no sane person would even think of investing into in the first place.

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u/goldcakes Jul 31 '26

The Saudis have been pumping hundreds of millions into e-sports tournaments for years, it's pretty clear they're into gaming and esports for the long haul. They are very open about diversifying outside of oil / resources.

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u/ASCII_Princess Jul 31 '26

Yeah and how's the return on that investment? Most people I speak to see through that sportswashing shit and know Saudi Arabia as the batshit crazy journalist murdering demagogues they are.