Electronic Arts is no longer a public company. On 4 August 2026, the publisher behind FIFA, Madden and The Sims completed a US$55 billion acquisition by a consortium of private investors, ending 36 years on the stock market. EA Newsroom

The consortium is led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund, alongside Silver Lake, a major US technology investor, and Affinity Partners, an American firm founded by Jared Kushner that draws most of its funding from the Saudi government. A filing made three months after the deal was first announced in September 2025 laid out the final ownership split: PIF holds 93.4%, Silver Lake 5.5%, and Affinity Partners the remaining 1.1%. VGC

Shareholders received US$210 in cash for each share of EA common stock they held as of the closing date. The deal cleared all required regulatory approvals by late July, including antitrust review from the European Commission under the EU's subsidy rules on 23 July 2026. Reuters

PIF had been a minority investor in EA for more than five years before the buyout, holding a 9.9% stake that it rolled into the new arrangement. Turqi Alnowaiser, the fund's deputy governor and head of international investments, said entertainment and sports are key areas of strategic focus for PIF, which is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil revenue. VGC

The timeline shifted from the original target. PIF's own announcement in September 2025 pegged the expected close in the first quarter of 2026, but regulatory reviews — including the EU process — pushed completion into August. The deal was set to close on 4 August 2026 once approvals were secured. GamesIndustry.biz

EA CEO and chairman Andrew Wilson, who remains in his role, said the company would "invest boldly" and accelerate innovation in its next chapter with the new partners. What that means in practice — new studios, bigger budgets, shifts in EA's live-service and sports licensing strategy — will take time to surface now that the company reports to private owners rather than quarterly earnings calls.

For the millions of players who pick up an EA sports title or a Battlefield entry each year, the games themselves will not change overnight. The publisher's slate, its licences and its release schedules continue as before. What changes is the ownership above them — a sovereign wealth fund with deep pockets and a stated interest in entertainment now sits at the top of one of gaming's largest companies, with no obligation to share its plans with the market.