Two U.S. Senators have penned a letter speaking out against EA's recent buyout, saying it presents national security risks. The deal made waves across the industry as soon as news broke that it was even a possibility, and now that the company has confirmed it, it hasn't taken long to catch the government's attention. The future of the EA acquisition may now be a bit murkier.

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In late September 2025, EA confirmed it was going private in a $55 billion deal, marking the largest leverage buyout in history, not just within the gaming industry. Should regulators approve, the video game giant will be 100% owned by a private investor group including private equity funds Silver Lake and Affinity Partners and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). While this isn't the first time the PIF has invested heavily in a gaming company, its involvement in the deal quickly drew scrutiny from some officials.

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U.S. Senators Warn the Treasury Over "National Security Risks" of the EA Buyout

A letter penned by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren to Scott Bessent, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, cited "profound concern about the foreign influence and national security risks" of the EA deal. The warning centered around how the PIF would become EA's majority stakeholder and could potentially use that position to gain influence. To back up that claim, the Senators pointed to the deal's size in relation to the company's volatile performance. The gaming giant has faced some financial challenges in the past year, with EA losing $6 billion in stock value in January, and the letter claims these trends suggest the buyout is more about influencing audiences rather than making money.

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The letter also highlights security concerns about the Saudi government possibly being able to access sensitive data on EA's audience of millions of gamers. Data privacy is a contentious issue in gaming, even outside the EA buyout, with Borderlands games getting review-bombed over its EULA changes earlier this year, which some users went as far to call "spyware." Given all the information flowing into gaming companies, it's easy to see where these concerns may arise, although the privacy question is not unique to EA or the PIF.

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It remains to be seen if this letter will have any effect on U.S. Regulators and how the deal will proceed from here. This buyout is also far from the first controversy in the gaming industry involving the Saudi government. In 2022, several Twitch streamers faced backlash over Saudi Arabia sponsorships, although the nation's PIF has continued to grow its presence in gaming. Notably, it remains one of Nintendo's largest outside investors, though the EA deal would be its biggest backing of an American video game company.

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EA
EA
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Date Founded
May 27, 1982
Headquarters
Redwood City, California, United States
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Andrew Wilson
Known For
FIFA, EA Sports UFC, Battlefield, Dragon Age, The Sims
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Source: US Senate