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PC Gamer
PC Gamer
Andy Chalk

EA employees brace for the worst under Saudi ownership: 'Hard to feel good about being bought out by a regime that's very much at odds with progressive society'

The silhouette of attendees are seen dancing in front of the Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) logo displayed on a screen during the company's EA Play event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Saturday, June 10, 2017. EA revealed two new titles along with the annual iterations of the company's sports games, as well as unveiling the highly anticipated "Star Wars: Battlefront II" open-world multiplayer gameplay. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Saudi Arabia's purchase of Electronic Arts, the biggest leveraged buyout in private equity history, officially closed earlier this month. With that deal done, a new Game Developer report has found that an awful lot of employees are expecting much more stringent control over what kinds of games they are and are not allowed to make.

This isn't really new, strictly speaking. After the buyout was announced, current and former EA employees alike expressed concerns about a potential crackdown on some games, particularly those that are visibly diverse and inclusive, like The Sims. Former BioWare lead writer Trick Weekes summed it up aptly, predicting that "guns and football" will be fine, but that "gay stuff" will likely be out.

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