Electronic Arts $55bn buyout joins gaming merger wave

Electronic Arts confirmed on August 4 an agreement to be bought by investment partners including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in a deal valuing the US video game publisher at around $55 billion.

The transaction takes Electronic Arts, maker of The Sims, Battlefield and EA Sports FC, off the New York Stock Exchange after 37 years. The Wall Street Journal reported that PIF will hold more than 93% of the company.

The deal is part of a wider consolidation wave in a video games industry that data firm Newzoo valued at $197 billion in revenue in 2025. PIF bought US mobile games company Scopely for $4.9 billion in April 2023. Scopely later bought Niantic, creator of titles including Pokemon Go, for $3.5 billion in March 2025.

Other major gaming deals include Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, announced in January 2022 and approved by British and US regulators in October 2023, and Take-Two's $12.7 billion purchase of Zynga in early 2022. Microsoft also bought ZeniMax Media, owner of Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion in 2021.