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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99Subscribe now PC Gaming Show Tokyo Essential Hardware Battlefield 6 Don't miss these EA reportedly expects Battlefield 6 to bring in 100 million players, a number that even DICE devs don't think is feasible EA is reportedly betting the farm on a Battlefield 6 battle royale mode modeled after Call of Duty: Warzone Battlefield 6 probably isn't going to cost $80: 'We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage,' EA CEO says Gaming Industry 'This year seems shakier than ever,' BioWare veteran Mark Darrah says, and live service games are a big part of the reason—but Grand Theft Auto 6 might force the industry to change It took 12 years, but Grand Theft Auto 5 is now legal in Saudi Arabia EA CEO taps into the great machine spirit of corpo-speak, says Battlefield 6 isn't 'just a product', it's a 'platform', and that EA's 'all in' on making it massive Analyst says EA plans to milk Battlefield for everything it's worth: 'Their goal is three studios making Battlefield on a 3-year basis, so they can get to Battlefield annually' Gaming Industry 'Eager to move on from failure': Ex-producer Mark Darrah thinks BioWare suffered spinning plates for EA, starving itself for talent as it ate itself alive: 'We weren't getting the people' Assassin's Creed Ubisoft's Saudi-funded Assassin's Creed DLC provokes staff unrest, but the publisher insists partnering with the controversial regime is A-OK: 'Talking with partners who do not share our democratic values does not mean abandoning them' Gaming Industry Xbox bet that Game Pass would be the future of gaming, and we're all paying for it Gaming Industry Microsoft made $27.2 billion in 3 months and still chose to lay 9,000 people off, in case you thought there was simply no other way Gaming Industry ESO devs at ZeniMax reel from Microsoft's 'hollow' layoff emails, with some wondering how a 'carcass of workers' is 'supposed to keep shipping award-winning games' Former BioWare producer Mark Darrah thinks Dragon Age remasters are the series' best hope for a future, but I doubt EA and BioWare even have it in them anymore Gaming Industry Sony has seen enough: 3 years after acquiring Bungie, Sony says the days of independence are 'getting lighter' and its future 'is to become part of PlayStation Studios' Gaming Industry EA Japan exec laments Microsoft's crushing layoffs, and the demands shareholders make for 'short-term results from large-scale investments' Gaming Industry EA is reportedly about to be sold in a record-setting $50 billion buyout to an investor group that includes private equity and Saudi Arabia Ted Litchfield 26 September 2025 The deal could go through as early as next week. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Bloomberg (Getty Images)) As reported by the The Wall Street Journal, gaming giant EA is set to go private—that is, no longer be traded on the stock market—in a $50 billion deal with an investor group. This would be the largest such leveraged buyout ever recorded. According to the WSJ's anonymous sources, EA could be sold for as much as $50 billion, though the final price has not yet been agreed on, and EA has an estimated market value of $43 billion. The group of investors reportedly includes the private equity firm Silver Lake and the government of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The deal could be announced as early as next week, and would be the largest leveraged buyout ever recorded. A leveraged buyout is when a private equity firm uses a significant amount of borrowed money to seal the deal, with the asset set to be acquired used as collateral in the debt. Related Articles EA reportedly expects Battlefield 6 to bring in 100 million players, a number that even DICE devs don't think is feasible EA is reportedly betting the farm on a Battlefield 6 battle royale mode modeled after Call of Duty: Warzone Battlefield 6 probably isn't going to cost $80: 'We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage,' EA CEO says This effectively leaves the acquired company liable for the debt—if its income can't adequately service the debt, it will bear the consequences of a default, not the investors who made the purchase, and that usually means closures and layoffs. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, one such leveraged buyout eventually resulted in bankruptcy and closure for the once-ubiquitous toy retailer, Toys R Us. The fact that the reported cost of the deal—up to $50 billion—is close to EA's estimated value (what's $7 billion between friends?) could give reason for optimism that EA's debt burden would be proportional to its means. Even aside from eventual bankruptcy, though, there's precedent for acquisitions like this causing massive disruptions to the company: Microsoft cut 1,900 jobs at Xbox in January 2024 shortly after its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, and Blizzard Entertainment was heavily affected in particular. The other known quantity in the purported deal, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, has been making inroads in games for several years as part of a multifaceted push into global media and entertainment. This has included: Sports: Saudi Pro League Football, LIV Golf, the Professional Fighters League. Entertainment: Investment in Hollywood films. Ownership stakes in gaming companies like Nintendo and Capcom, including a 10% stake in EA prior to this deal. Sports Entertainment: Saudi Arabia made a $1 billion deal in 2018 to host major WWE events in the kingdom, and the promotion recently announced that Wrestlemania 43 will be held in Riyadh in 2027. Critics of the Saudi Arabian government have called this practice "sportswashing," or using a growing influence and ubiquity in the entertainment industries to distract from the government's human rights record. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. EA, much like its competitor Ubisoft, has struggled in recent years. Once formidable titans, both have been left behind as consolidation efforts have turned Microsoft and Sony into unassailable super heavyweights. At the same time, smaller publishers like DreadXP, Devolver, and Playstack have become ubiquitous at the other end of the budget spectrum. EA lost the lucrative FIFA license, leading to its new, genericized EA FC series. Beloved RPG developer BioWare was sharply downsized after Dragon Age: The Veilguard proved a relative sales failure. The impending release of Battlefield 6, which has seen massive beta numbers and a positive critical reception, is looking like a much-needed win for the company. Should the deal go through, here are some of the major studios and games that could be affected: BioWare: Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Respawn: Titanfall, Apex Legends, the Star Wars: Jedi series. DICE (and the other 'Battlefield Studios'): Battlefield and Mirror's Edge Maxis: The Sims 4 and Project Rene. The Madden NFL and EA Sports College Football series (and other EA Sports games). The dormant Dead Space and Need for Speed series. The once-dormant Skate, recently resurrected. The Command & Conquer series. The Origin Systems back catalogue, including Ultima and Wing Commander. Pepperidge Farm remembers. Ted Litchfield Social Links Navigation Associate Editor Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. EA reportedly expects Battlefield 6 to bring in 100 million players, a number that even DICE devs don't think is feasible EA is reportedly betting the farm on a Battlefield 6 battle royale mode modeled after Call of Duty: Warzone Battlefield 6 probably isn't going to cost $80: 'We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage,' EA CEO says 'This year seems shakier than ever,' BioWare veteran Mark Darrah says, and live service games are a big part of the reason—but Grand Theft Auto 6 might force the industry to change It took 12 years, but Grand Theft Auto 5 is now legal in Saudi Arabia EA CEO taps into the great machine spirit of corpo-speak, says Battlefield 6 isn't 'just a product', it's a 'platform', and that EA's 'all in' on making it massive Latest in Gaming Industry Brazil's president has signed a ban on selling loot boxes to minors as part of a larger online child safety law Worst people alive hack nursery chain and start posting pictures and personal info of literal toddlers on the dark web End of an era as Bowser (no not that one) retires from Nintendo FTC settles with Amazon for a whopping $2.5 billion over alleged deceptive practices: 'A record-breaking, monumental win for the millions of Americans who are tired of deceptive subscriptions that feel impossible to cancel' 9 months after cancelling Transformers: Reactivate, Splash Damage splits from Tencent and is now owned by private equity investors How To Watch the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct 2025 Latest in News EA is reportedly about to be sold in a record-setting $50 billion buyout to an investor group that includes private equity and Saudi Arabia Silksong player uses every speedrunning trick in the book to lock poor Hornet in bug jail forever: 'I don't know why anyone would want to do this, but I have done it anyway' REPO devs are adding a new mechanic that'll let you grab things while tumbling and—more importantly—kill things with butt physics Path of Exile 2 is making a surprise Atlas overhaul next week to liberate its players from tower tyranny Someone made the Metal Gear Solid 4 channel-surfing section into a game and it's absolutely perfect Diablo 4 is crossing the streams with Starcraft cosmetics, and honestly? 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