Once they’re done squeezing out the money, what comes next is the soul.
Video game company Electronic Arts, owner of EA Sports and popular sports game franchises including EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, the F1 series and Ultimate Fighting Championship, was bought for $55 billion by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and two private equity firms on Sept. 29. The deal pressures EA to focus on developing its core profitable franchises, leaving Northwood gamers with recycled and uninspired titles that drain wallets.
EA was acquired in a leveraged buyout, where investors buy companies with a mix of borrowed money and their own money. In EA’s case, the deal required taking on about $20 billion in debt. This debt is then repaid by future revenue brought in by the asset, requiring EA to quickly increase profits, likely from its cash cow sports games and microtransactions—small in-game payments for desirable items.
EA is already notorious for its “pay-to-win” model as it sells items that give players in-game advantages. This makes up 73% of EA’s current 2024 revenue, according to their earnings report.
Leaning into features like EA FC 25’s new pay-to-win archetypes in its Clubs mode, would certainly pay off their debt, but at the expense of players. Gamers who opt out of paying are disadvantaged. Worse, unlocking those upgrades with a parent’s credit card cuts out the struggle of progressing—and the satisfaction.
Madden NFL player sophomore Lucas Li also said that additional money paid for in-game content could’ve been used to buy and enjoy other games.
“I might just stop buying [EA’s] games, like, at all,” Li said. “Just completely stop supporting their company.”
A less risk-prone EA is also the final nail in the coffin for them making innovative new games. According to Li, graphics and mechanics in EA’s Madden and UFC rarely seem to change. Sticking with proven game models satisfies long time fans, but hardly invites new players to join the fandom.
In addition, a privately owned EA doesn’t face pressure from stockholders, who own public companies, to change this direction. As a result, EA could now start releasing unpolished games to meet seasonal sales targets, instead being able to give developers time to refine them.
EA’s new owners include the Saudi government as well as Affinity Partners—owned by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The former is known for human rights violations; the latter is influenced by Trump’s anti-DEI stance.
Protesting EA’s move means voting with your wallet. Start with avoiding the microtransactions, sending a message of disapproval directly to EA’s bottom line. And maybe, take this as a sign to play some offline sports.
Supporting indie developers is also a rallying call worth getting behind; just as or more popular as big-budget releases, the games are cheaper and offer a charm that any EA gamer knows larger developers can lack.
Don’t settle for soulless games —fill your wishlist with experiences that have a real soul.
