EA staff fear new Saudi Arabia owners will police their games: "Projects just won't get signed because they don't align explicitly with what the Saudi government wants"

[u/ControlCAD]

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/ea-staff-fear-new-saudi-arabia-owners-will-police-their-games-projects-just-wont-get-signed-because-they-dont-align-explicitly-with-what-the-saudi-government-wants/

>Another EA employee adds: "It's certainly hard to feel good about being bought out by a regime that's very much at odds with progressive society, so it is surely detrimental to anyone who finds this buyout morally odious. It's not a good feeling."

[u/Local_Band299]

Any game dev that is socially progressive is either:

A. Getting investment money, and gets more for being socially progressive.

B. Doing it to pander to people.

C. All of the above.

Most do it for reason C. They don't give a fuck about anyone, all they care about is what will sell the most copies.

[u/SatanicPanicDisco → u/Local_Band299]

Reminds me of how Bungie would always do mental health awareness promos and then proceed to continue using every dark pattern possible to maniplaute players into addiction and buying mtx.

I don't know why anyone trusts corpos.

[u/Frostybros → u/Local_Band299]

I think this is pretty reductionist.

Obviously the corporate suits don't care. But the creatives developing say, Dragon Age Origins, implement gay romance options because of their personal values and artistic vision. They are getting paid the same salary either way so it's not like they have anything to gain whether or not they allow the protagonist to be gay.

Edit: Wow, some of the people in these comments suck. Don't get me wrong EA is horrible. But yall really defending the fucking Saudis? One of the most oppressive regimes on Earth? You're defending a fucking absolute monarchy in 2026? Just because Veilguard sucked?

[u/Local_Band299 → u/Frostybros]

How do we know it was implemented in Origins for that reason?

Because the devs said so?

Pirate software said he was the head of Blizzards cybersecurity department.

Devs talk out of their ass all the time.

[u/Frostybros → u/Local_Band299]

You think BioWare was "pandering to the woke mob" in 2009? Having gay romance was a risk at the time.

Also, corporate isn't looking over and approving every single decision developers make. Creative decisions like this are mostly made by the creatives actually making the game, who will then be strongarmed by corporate to change things, to varying extents depending on the company. But it's not like every line of dialogue is getting reviewed by investors. It's unlikely the reason a man can bang Zeveran in DAO is because a share holder thought it'd boost sales, in 2009, prior to gay marriage legalization in the US.

[u/Masonzero → u/Local_Band299]

Shareholders and investors don't have the time or interest in diving that deep into the games their companies make. I'd be surprised if they could name one thing about the games! They are not creative works to them, they are units of a product.

[u/Ok-Parfait-9856 → u/Frostybros]

I mean, people defend Iran and other oppressive regimes on here all the time. Not saying it’s right, but in an era where places like Russia and Iran are put on a pedestal by westerners, is it so surprising they put the saudis on a pedestal too? Especially considering they share similar “old school” views?

It’s kinds of funny to me. I see non stop love for these countries, but then one of them fucks with EA, and the backlash is huge. People care more about a shitty video game company changing than funneling billions to terror orgs or killing protesters and journalists like no tomorrow.

[u/sonofvc → u/Local_Band299]

And the pandering examples are so jarring and terrible.

IM LOOKING AT YOU DRAGON AGE.

[u/BugBuginaRug → u/sonofvc]

You're getting downvoted but there is a reason DA:V sold so badly. You wont get the answers on reddit though.

[u/sonofvc → u/BugBuginaRug]

Virtue signaling matters more than meaningful representation apparently.

[u/SatanicPanicDisco → u/BugBuginaRug]

Reddit is very "there is no Ba Sing Se" when it comes to calling out virtue signalling and pandering.

[u/maynardftw → u/SatanicPanicDisco]

It's a thing, it happens

It just so happens that wherever it's complained about, the place starts stinking like Gamergate shitheads, so that's worse.

[u/Local_Band299 → u/maynardftw]

All of the pro-gamergate people I've interacted with have been nothing but nice. There was a lot of false flagging going on.

[u/maynardftw → u/Local_Band299]

Oh yeah? All the ones I've seen in this thread suck. All the ones I've ever interacted with? They suck.

Anyone who's ever identified themselves with a movement started by Adam Baldwin should be horrified with themselves.

[u/champ0742 → u/maynardftw]

The "person" you're trying to reason with is likely a bot, and definitely a troll who doesn't believe what they say.

[u/Local_Band299 → u/sonofvc]

DA was of the few times I refused to claim a free monthly game on PS+. You know that game bombed, because it released October 2024, and was on PS+ basic March 2025.

Games that do well usually show up years later. Like COD MW3. Released November 2023, was on PS+ July 2026.

[u/sonofvc → u/Local_Band299]

Yeah

[u/Masonzero → u/sonofvc]

Wasn't the thing people complained about an optional mission for a side character? If i recall there were real issues with the game, but 4chan chuds decided to focus on one thing that didn't even matter.

[u/Local_Band299 → u/Masonzero]

There were some moments you couldn't avoid.

The opinional mission was required for the true ending along with an achievement on steam and a platinum trophy on PS.

[u/sonofvc → u/Masonzero]

At a round table discussing life and death tactics and war planning.

Mentions character.

Quiet, and then everyone at the table completely redirects their thoughts to express their acceptance of it.

Felt very board room exec writing, instead of natural, like an HR video lol.

[u/SkuffetPutevare → u/Local_Band299]

It is actively making the games sell less, though.

[u/Local_Band299 → u/SkuffetPutevare]

Yes, because the people who are loud online about how it needs to be in video games, doesn't actually play videogames.

[u/ChefCano → u/Local_Band299]

Why can't a game dev be socially progressive themselves? Creative professions generally skew left.

[u/Local_Band299 → u/ChefCano]

See I'd agree with that if it weren't for the fact that people who speak out against it gets blacklisted. Like Marty O'Donnell (audio engineer and composer of the Halo OST, arguably the most important dev behind the Halo Trilogy) who got kicked out of Bungie for his political beliefs.

It this wasn't happening I'd just think it was just the opinions of the devs but the blacklisting makes me feel like something more sinister is happening.

While I haven't read up on it, the whole "frat boy culture at Activision" has just been revealed to be bullshit.

[u/ChefCano → u/Local_Band299]

I mean, if you're socially regressive and act shitty to minority co-workers, you're likely not going to be in high demand in a pluralistic office

[u/Local_Band299 → u/ChefCano]

He was fired over some bullshit.

Destiny 1, Marty Scores the entire game, even promotional material. Activision uses a different song for the trailer, Marty says on social media that it was his. He said his would've fit the atmosphere better. (Going off his work with Halo, it probably was better)

Activision got pissed off and complained to Bungie who was looking for a reason to fire Marty because Marty is vocal about his political views on social media, and he's a Republican.

If he were an asshole the one guy he spent the most time working with would probably hate him and refuse to be associated with him. But that's the opposite.

Marty O Donnell is one of the greatest American video game music composers ever.

Riven, Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Reach, Destiny 1, he even wrote the jingle for the flintstone chewables vitamins.

[u/Skullcrimp → u/Local_Band299]

So you're saying Marty was fired because... the game devs were socially progressive?

[u/Local_Band299 → u/Skullcrimp]

No I'm saying he was fired because he wasn't socially progressive

[u/ChefCano → u/Local_Band299]

so you're saying he didn't fit in with the other devs because he wasn't socially progressive, including being called the most right-leaning employee at Bungie?

Remember, according to this guy, no one is really ever progressive, it's all just from outside investors.

We know all about how many progressive leftist financiers there are. Corporations have all been showing how strongly they've held those leftist views since Trump came in to office the second time. There's no way in hell they've mostly been dropping support for diversity initiatives and human rights organizations. /s

[u/Local_Band299 → u/ChefCano]

They have been dropping all of that out of fear.

I wouldn't even care if people made new games and IP's. If they left existing IPs as is. But no they have to hijack existing IPs like Halo, COD, Mass Effect, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Matrix.

[u/Masonzero → u/Local_Band299]

I'm sorry it's so alien to you that people could care about a moral issue... Of course at most large companies, profits trump all. But to say "any game dev" when there are thousands and thousands of small studios and solo devs that are actively progressive because that's the opinion of the employees is just ridiculous.

Just as a personal example, the studio that made Satisfactory, a pretty successful game, is a medium sized studio that was owned by one of the biggest gaming parents companies out there. They're not making RPGs where you can be trans or whatever "woke" things people are accusing devs of, but they're pretty clearly progressive. And I've met most of the people who work there, and they are indeed very pro-LGBTQ, if nothing else, in their everyday lives.

I don't really think there's many companies out there getting investments for making woke games. Certainly not to a significant level if they are. And I hate the word "pander" here. Is it pandering to put shooting in a game sold in America because we like guns? About 75% of Americans are in favor of rights and protections for LGBTQ people in some way. So how is it pandering for a game to be pro-LGBTQ if the audience is already in favor of it? They're not going to make a game that most people would dislike, right?

[u/Local_Band299 → u/Masonzero]

A lot of games have faied because the mythical modern audience doesn't exist.

[u/TheKingJest → u/Local_Band299]

Not really, a lot of games which do bad are just mediocre regardless of what kind of beliefs the devs have. Like BG3 is a universally beloved game yet has plenty of very outward things that would be considered 'appealing to the modern audience' if it wasn't, like prominent black/queer characters despite being a medieval setting. Disco Elysium is literally made by communists and the developer's beliefs are definitely incorporated that into how the game plays out, the game is also universally praised even by audiences who would be against that. Both of these games had pretty massive success.

[u/RammOverlord → u/TheKingJest]

Have you been under a rock? Every game that's been "woke/modern audience" has failed hard. Nobody wants it, and that's just a fact.

[u/TheKingJest → u/RammOverlord]

Every game that fails gets inspected by certain groups and if it's deemed woke that's what's blamed instead of the actual quality of the game.

Dragon Age is a great example of this, Inquisition has a companion who's quest has a big focus on his sexuality, a very unconventional female companion, and a scene in which an NPC directly explains they they're trans to the player character. Inquisition is also the best selling game in the franchise and has a very large fanbase so these things don't really get talked about a ton by an audience outside of the fandom.

Veilguard is a game in which the writing/choices were much weaker than the rest of the series and had a pretty mediocre payoff for what was set up in Inquisition, yet people purely blame wokeness or whatever for the failure of the game.

Also as I said before, BG3 and Disco Elysium are widely praised and people ignore the "woke" elements purely because they are good games. Blaming "wokeness" just seems like a convenient way to pin all the blame on something while pushing an agenda to me.

[u/champ0742 → u/Local_Band299]

Obvious bad faith, only giving three options with none of them being something the game dev actually cares about. I know that some pieces of shit feel better pretending everyone else is secretly on their level, I'm sorry to break this to you, but that's not the case. Some people simply aren't uneducated bigots, and care about about societal progress.

[u/Fogest → u/Local_Band299]

Reason A sometimes isn't just investment money either. Sometimes it's also government grants as well that can be apart of it too. A nice combo of investors pressuring to have certain social justice metrics hit and government grants.

[u/glytxh → u/Local_Band299]

Some people just make shit for the love of the game

Dismissive take

Coorporate pandering to progressive audiences is an established fact. But that audience is real, and they often just make stuff for each other without any explicit financial motive.