Saudi PIF Weighs Merging EA and Savvy Into One Gaming Giant

What Happened: One Bloomberg Report Put Both Companies on the Same Table

September 10: PIF considers folding EA into Savvy

Bloomberg reported that PIF executives are working on plans to combine EA with Savvy to "ensure better coordination between its assets." No decision has been made, and both PIF and EA declined to comment. Reuters' framing was plainer: the deal could create one of the world's largest gaming companies.

Savvy was set up by PIF in 2021 as its dedicated games arm, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and has been allocated $38 billion. EA, meanwhile, finished going private in August, with PIF holding about 93%.

The precondition: Moonton's $6 billion purchase has to close first

This will not happen quickly. Multiple outlets report the combination is unlikely before Savvy completes its $6 billion acquisition of Moonton, the Mobile Legends developer owned by ByteDance, announced in March 2026. The other variable is people: Savvy chief executive Brian Ward left this month and was replaced on an interim basis by Turqi Alnowaiser, a PIF deputy governor who fronted the EA negotiations.

Chain Reaction 1: The Scale of the Numbers

$55 billion: the largest leveraged buyout on record

EA's take-private closed on August 5, led by PIF alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the firm founded by Jared Kushner. Shareholders received $210 per share in cash and the stock was delisted from Nasdaq. The $55 billion deal is widely described as the largest leveraged buyout in history.

93% of the equity and $20 billion of debt

The structure matters more than the headline. PIF contributed about $36 billion in equity and arranged roughly $20 billion in new debt led by JPMorgan. Filings from late 2025 indicated PIF would own around 93% of EA, with the remainder split between Silver Lake and Affinity. EA carries close to $20 billion in debt as a result. The European Commission cleared the takeover on July 31 on both competition and foreign subsidy grounds.

Chain Reaction 2: What the Combined Company Already Owns

Pokémon Go, Monopoly GO! and EA Sports FC at one table

If the merger happens, one company would hold EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed and Mass Effect, alongside Scopely's Monopoly GO! — which generated $5 billion in revenue within two years — and the Niantic games business including Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now.

It also holds stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon and Take-Two

The equity network is the part worth watching. Savvy publicly holds stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon and Take-Two, spanning console and mobile. A single sovereign fund sitting on the shareholder register of multiple competitors has no real precedent in this industry.

Chain Reaction 3: What Players Would Actually Feel

Ads and single-player microtransactions: EA's own words

German outlet heise reported that EA sees additional profit opportunities in "ad placements and microtransactions in single-player modes." That line deserves a pause: a company carrying close to $20 billion in debt needs cash flow, and ads plus microtransactions in single-player games are the two easiest levers to pull — and the two most likely to enrage long-time players.

A $214 billion industry where mobile is the growth story

Bloomberg puts the industry at $214 billion. EA is strongest on console and PC; Scopely and Niantic's games business are strongest on mobile. EA's own mobile record is patchy — it bought Glu Mobile for $2.1 billion in 2021 and then cancelled the mobile titles it acquired. Filling that mobile gap is the most coherent rationale for the combination.

Analysis: Why PIF Wants Them Under One Roof

Under EU merger rules, shifting assets between entities that already answer to the same owner may not constitute a change of control at all — PIF holds about 93% of EA and owns Savvy outright, making this closer to an internal reorganisation than an acquisition. The logic is not to buy another company but to fold a spread-out portfolio into one hand before the next purchase. Saudi Vision 2030 lists gaming and esports as strategic sectors.

The Other Side: This Is a Report, Not a Decision

To be clear: the only fact here is that Bloomberg reported PIF is considering it. There is no decision, no timetable and no official confirmation. The scale precedent is instructive — Microsoft's $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard deal drew an FTC lawsuit, closed in 2023 and saw the case dropped in 2025, three years of friction. Even a purely internal reorganisation would face investor protection, minority shareholder rights and multi-country scrutiny.

My Take: Gaming's Biggest Shareholder Is a Sovereign Fund

I have bought EA games and complained about EA's monetisation, but I never expected EA's largest shareholder to be a sovereign wealth fund. The strange part is not who bought whom; it is the structure. One fund holds stakes in Nintendo, Capcom, Take-Two and Nexon, owns EA and Savvy outright, and is about to buy Moonton. It can sit on every side of the table at once. For decades the richest player in this industry was another games company. Not anymore.

Do you think EA becomes a more aggressive cash register? Does one fund owning a slice of the whole industry bother you? Come discuss in the Gghubs comments.

FAQ

Who owns EA now, and is it still public?

A PIF-led consortium completed its buyout of EA on August 5, 2026. Shareholders received $210 per share in cash and the company was delisted from Nasdaq. PIF owns roughly 93%, with the rest held by Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, and EA carries close to $20 billion in debt.

What would an EA-Savvy merger change for players?

There is no official plan. heise reported that EA views ad placements and microtransactions in single-player modes as additional profit opportunities, and the company carries close to $20 billion in debt requiring steady cash flow. No decision has been made on the merger.

Would the merger need regulatory approval?

It depends on structure. The European Commission cleared the EA takeover on July 31. Under EU merger rules, a transaction that merely reorganises assets under the same owner without changing control may not require a filing at all — but minority rights or cross-border control changes would still trigger review.