5th October 2025, 4:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 5th October 2025, 4:33 PM by A Black Falcon.)
The Saudis are aggressively trying to branch out and make money off of things other than oil, with things like their LIV Golf tour, WWE wrestling events in Riyadh, a recent comedy event in Saudi Arabia where the Saudis paid a bunch of (English-language-country) comedians to go there and have a comedy show, they're getting into videogames, and more.
The problem is, of course, this is a government which murders dissidents and has some of the most repressive laws in the world. So yeah, this is pretty messed up. The Saudi PIF is investing in gaming, and this is by far their biggest acquisition. If you didn't know, the PIF owns shares in a few Japanese studios, most notably they own SNK, and have a stake in Koei-Tecmo as well. Somewhat similar is the situation with the big Chinese company Tencent, who own shares in some Western studios, probably most notably a minority stake in Epic. I think that both situations are similar because China and the Saudi government are both responsible for many seriously reprehensible crimes. I'd rather avoid giving arms of the Chinese or Saudi governments money if possible.
On that note though, EA used to make great games, but when's the last time I even played an EA game? Other than the somewhat underwhelming Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I don't know that they've made much worth caring about in years... the recent-ish Need for Speed games aren't much to speak about, I do not care about Madden or FIFA and never have, Battlefield's neat I guess but I never really got into those games... so yeah, like, for me there are very few games EA has made for years now that are actually interesting. That's fortunate given that I would definitely prefer to avoid supporting Saudi or Chinese companies with money when possible.
Additionally, as that video you linked mentions, EA has been saddled with a massive amount of debt in this deal. It will cost a lot of their yearly revenues to pay for this debt, it could ruin EA for sure if they can't pay it back. So yeah, it's very bad news all around for EA here. If they were still making great games I'd be more upset... but I do hope that Bioware survives this somehow. Maybe they can be sold off...
As for the AI bubble, yeah, it has gotten very very large now. The ridiculous size of the bubble is helping to prop up the US economy right now. I'm not sure if that is related to the EA deal though, shouldn't that be a different thread?
The problem is, of course, this is a government which murders dissidents and has some of the most repressive laws in the world. So yeah, this is pretty messed up. The Saudi PIF is investing in gaming, and this is by far their biggest acquisition. If you didn't know, the PIF owns shares in a few Japanese studios, most notably they own SNK, and have a stake in Koei-Tecmo as well. Somewhat similar is the situation with the big Chinese company Tencent, who own shares in some Western studios, probably most notably a minority stake in Epic. I think that both situations are similar because China and the Saudi government are both responsible for many seriously reprehensible crimes. I'd rather avoid giving arms of the Chinese or Saudi governments money if possible.
On that note though, EA used to make great games, but when's the last time I even played an EA game? Other than the somewhat underwhelming Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I don't know that they've made much worth caring about in years... the recent-ish Need for Speed games aren't much to speak about, I do not care about Madden or FIFA and never have, Battlefield's neat I guess but I never really got into those games... so yeah, like, for me there are very few games EA has made for years now that are actually interesting. That's fortunate given that I would definitely prefer to avoid supporting Saudi or Chinese companies with money when possible.
Additionally, as that video you linked mentions, EA has been saddled with a massive amount of debt in this deal. It will cost a lot of their yearly revenues to pay for this debt, it could ruin EA for sure if they can't pay it back. So yeah, it's very bad news all around for EA here. If they were still making great games I'd be more upset... but I do hope that Bioware survives this somehow. Maybe they can be sold off...
As for the AI bubble, yeah, it has gotten very very large now. The ridiculous size of the bubble is helping to prop up the US economy right now. I'm not sure if that is related to the EA deal though, shouldn't that be a different thread?
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