The $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts by a consortium that includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners investment firm has resulted in no small amount of consternation among observers. Much of that arises from the perceived likelihood of a less-than-ideal long-term outcome for EA, its creative output, and its staff—but some elements of the US government are also uncertain about the whole thing for different reasons: In a letter to US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren expressed "profound concern about the foreign influence and national security risks" that could result from the takeover.
"The proposed transaction poses a number of significant foreign influence and national security risks, beginning with the PIF's reputation as a strategic arm of the Saudi government," the letter states, all but explicitly pointing the finger at longstanding allegations of "sportswashing" being conducted by Saudi Arabia via millions of dollars invested in sports, videogames, and "other cultural institutions."
