EA’s $55 billion acquisition is no longer just business news, but has officially begun to become a major event that is heating up the player community and politics simultaneously.
According to the latest news, a player protest group called Players Alliance HQ plans to go to EA’s headquarters in Redwood City, California, on May 11 to launch a demonstration to protest the acquisition led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The group even directly used the word “raid” to describe this operation, making it clear that it was not just about standing at the door and raising signs.
EA acquisition case continues to ferment
The deal was first confirmed in September 2025, when EA announced it would become a private company following an acquisition valued at $55 billion.
The consortium involved in the acquisition includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund PIF, Affinity Partners and Silver Lake.
Among them, Affinity Partners has received financial support from the Saudi Arabian government in the past, and the company is led by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump. Therefore, the entire transaction was accompanied by a lot of political and regulatory discussions from the beginning.
At present, the transaction still needs to be approved by the U.S. government and relevant regulatory agencies and has not been officially completed.
Player groups will bring 70,000 signatures to EA headquarters
Players Alliance HQ said the operation will begin at 11 a.m. on May 11, and the goal is to send a petition signed by more than 70,000 people to EA headquarters in the hope of stopping the acquisition.
According to content creator SlayerKase, protesters will carry a large 50-foot-long scroll with a list of all signatories and plan to spread it out at the Madden NFL football stadium on the EA campus.
Protesters will appear as cosplayers
Since Players Alliance HQ itself is a cosplay group, this protest was not a traditional demonstration either.
Participants are expected to wear various costumes symbolizing the villainization of EA’s corporate system, and SlayerKase and “The Sims 4” content creator Zefrine have also stated that the entire protest will be broadcast live on Twitch.
Protests not only target Saudi funds
In addition to opposing the acquisition, Players Alliance HQ also directly criticized EA’s long-term business model in its statement.
The group pointed out that EA CEO Andrew Wilson’s salary is as high as 260 times that of the median employee, but the company is laying off thousands of developers at the same time.
In addition, the group also criticized EA for shutting down old game servers and continuing to add loot box systems to new games, believing that these practices are depriving players of game content and rights after purchase.
U.S. politicians have also begun to intervene
This turmoil has even entered the American political circle.
U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost has recently discussed the acquisition live with Zefrine and former EA Creator Network member Lilsimsie, and called on players to pay more attention to the incident.
In addition, at the end of 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal also publicly raised national security concerns, worrying that if PIF completes the acquisition, it may have access to a large amount of U.S. and global player data through EA.