Saudi Arabia is weighing a plan to combine Electronic Arts with Savvy Games Group. The proposed consolidation would merge massive console franchises like Battlefield and EA Sports FC with mobile powerhouses like Monopoly GO and Pokemon GO under a single corporate roof. According to a report from Bloomberg, discussions remain early while the kingdom works to close a separate $6 billion gaming purchase.
The Public Investment Fund completed a $55 billion buyout to take EA private alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. Merging EA with Savvy Games Group represents the next step in centralizing the gaming investments held by the kingdom. Savvy already holds a massive footprint in mobile publishing through Scopely, which controls hits like Monopoly GO and purchased the Pokemon GO developer teams for $3.5 billion. Bringing these groups together would create one of the largest standalone gaming businesses on the planet.
Any formal merger remains frozen until Savvy wraps up its $6 billion buyout of Chinese publisher Moonton. The timing also coincides with major leadership shifts inside the Saudi gaming firm. Brian Ward stepped down as chief executive officer, passing control to interim boss Turqi Alnowaiser. Alnowaiser played a direct role in the original EA buyout and now oversees the coordination of these massive assets.
Inside EA, studio workers are watching the corporate moves with growing unease. The buyout saddled the company with roughly $18 billion in debt, raising fears that corporate restructuring could spark widespread studio layoffs to trim overhead expenses. Combining redundant departments is a common tactic to cut costs following large takeovers.
Any final agreement also faces serious review from international antitrust authorities. Regulators spent years scrutinizing the Microsoft purchase of Activision Blizzard before granting approval. A combined EA and Savvy entity would command similar market power across console, PC, and mobile platforms, making regulatory clearance a primary hurdle before any consolidation can take effect.
