As the pending acquisition of Electronic Arts by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia draws closer to completion, the Players Alliance HQ activist group revealed an ongoing petition to block the deal. Players Alliance HQ stated that the petition to block the EA deal had already collected thousands of signatures.
In September 2025, EA announced that it was working on a $55 billion buyout that would change the publicly-traded gaming company into a private one. The deal was led by a private equity consortium led by the PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. As of this writing, Affinity Partners is led by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. As for the PIF, the group currently has minority stakes in other AAA gaming companies such as Nintendo and Capcom. Via the Electronic Gaming Development Company, the PIF also owns fighting game giant SNK.
Players Alliance HQ Petition Has Already Collected Thousands of Signatures
Weeks after Players Alliance HQ organized a protest at EA’s Redwood City headquarters, the organization revealed its official petition to the US government to stop the PIF from buying EA. The Players Alliance HQ website asked users to add their name, email address, and ZIP code to a petition that will be sent to US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. The activist group stated that the petition would send a signal to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Congress that EA’s fans are paying attention to the pending deal. Players Alliance HQ stated that the $55 billion buyout of EA by the Saudi-led investment group would lead to fewer independent studios, higher game prices and more aggressive monetization practices, less consumer choices across major franchises, and more layoffs.
On June 22, EA reportedly laid off staff members across its customer support, IT, and recruitment departments in the US and India. Although the gaming industry has seen thousands of jobs cut throughout the decade, EA has been behind a good number of them. By petitioning to halt the deal, Players Alliance HQ hopes to raise awareness about the situation and get fans of franchises such as The Sims, Battlefield, and Madden NFL involved with the process. As of this writing, Players Alliance HQ has collected over 73,000 signatures, with just over 1,600 signatures to go until the group’s goal of 75,000 is met.
Although the deal is expected to close on Tuesday, June 30, it is still awaiting approval from EU antitrust regulators. Additionally, EA’s buyout has already drawn scrutiny from the US government since the deal was announced. In a joint statement to Treasury Secretary Bessent, US Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stated that the PIF’s pending ownership of EA would pose a national security risk that could allow the group to access sensitive data on EA’s customers in the US.
EA has since commented on the pending PIF buyout and stated that it would retain CEO Andrew Wilson after the buyout is completed. However, given the growing petition by Players Alliance HQ and legal scrutiny by the various government entities, EA’s buyout is not necessarily a done deal.