Press Release from Players Alliance HQ
In Orlando, Gamers Stage Funeral for EA Denouncing $55 Billion Buyout
Orlando, FL — Outside of Electronic Arts’ (EA) Orlando office, Members of the Players Alliance HQ staged a funeral-themed rally opposing the proposed $55 billion buyout of the company by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake.
Dressed in funeral attire and carrying a casket, gravestones, flowers, and a 50-foot petition scroll signed by more than 70,000 gamers, participants mourned what they say would be the consequences of the deal, including studio closures, rising costs, AI-driven layoffs, and threats to creative freedom in gaming. Gamers pointed to EA’s history of studio closures, rising prices and the growing unaffordability of gaming, the increased use of AI to cut developer jobs, and concerns that the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s proposed 93.4% ownership stake could give it unprecedented influence over creative decisions at one of the U.S.’s largest gaming studios, including games like The Sims which have long been recognized for inclusive storytelling and representation.
At the rally, gamers called on federal regulators to block the buyout, warning that saddling EA with $20 billion in private equity debt would accelerate the industry’s shift toward anti-consumer practices and exploitative monetization.
Background on the Campaign to Block the EA Deal
Players Alliance HQ launched its campaign to block the proposed EA buyout in 2025, and has since recruited more than 2,500 Discord members, collected over 70,000 petition signatures, and hosted a Twitch stream featuring Rep. Maxwell Frost and prominent streamer, lilsimsie. The campaign has organized actions in Washington, DC, Redwood City, and Orlando, with additional cities planned, and inspired a new UK spinoff campaign, Block the EA Deal UK. See coverage on the campaign by The LA Times and PC Gamer.