After decades of being one of the biggest publicly traded videogame companies, Electronic Arts (EA) is set to go private in a deal that values the company at around $55 billion in enterprise value. On 29 September 2025, the gaming giant announced that it would be fully acquired by a consortium including the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and the Miami-based investment firm Affinity Partners.

The studio has revealed that stockholders will receive $210 per share in cash, which represents a premium of around 25% to the unaffected price of approximately $168.32 on 25 September. The deal will be financed through $36 billion in equity and $20 billion in debt, with a target closing date in the beginning of 2027.

Electronic Arts’ buyout stands as the largest ever all-cash privatization of a publicly traded company of its kind. This move represents a big shift in EA’s future, as it can give the firm greater strategic flexibility and allow them to stop worrying about quarterly market pressures.

On the other hand, this transaction also highlights PIF’s and Silver Lake’s trust in digital entertainment, following the latter’s acquisition of the global sports company Endeavor earlier this year. Nonetheless, this move also worries gaming lovers for they fear that profit goals or debt repayments could limit creative freedom.