Electronic Arts has told employees it’ll retain full creative control in the event the acquisition of the publisher led by a partnership between the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and private equity groups goes ahead.
In an updated Frequently Asked Questions document for EA employees, the company states that: “EA will maintain creative control, and our track record of creative freedom and player-first values will remain intact.”
The document also states that the EA headquarters will remain in Redwood City, California. In addition, the document emphasises that: “Our mission, values, and commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged,” as well as “We will continue to be guided by our cultural values of creativity, pioneering, passion, determination, learning, and teamwork.”
These changes come after some turmoil surrounding the deal, which has drawn the ire of developers as well as the CWA video game union. In spite of these concerns, the deal is assumed to go ahead smoothly, with a source telling FT: “What regulator is going to say no to the president’s son-in-law?” Jarred Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, is the owner of Affinity Partners, one of the private equity groups involved in the planned acquisition.
The worry surrounding values is especially present at the moment, given the historically LGBT-positive representation present in EA games including (but not limited to) The Sims. Saudi Arabia prohibits same-sex relationships under force of law, and as such the future of such representation in works it owns remains an uncertainty.
