EA insists it will retain its creative freedom under the ownership of a private consortium that includes Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the latter of which is an investment firm co-founded by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
According to Game Filecompany recently published an updated version of the FAQ for employees It was originally circulated when the deal was announced in September.
The revised FAQ includes several interesting additions, including the following statement, intended to explore whether the publisher's culture will change as a result $55 billion deal:
“EA will retain creative control and our legacy of creative freedom and player-centric values will remain intact.”
This is the snippet that seems to be intended to solve fears and assumptions regarding whether the company's creative activities will be influenced by the beliefs and policies of EA's new Saudi Arabian owners, who are often criticized by human rights groups such as Amnesty International And Human Rights Watch for the oppression of women and LGBTQ+ communities and the restriction of human rights.
Shortly after the deal was announced, Game Developer contacted EA to confirm whether the company would continue to promote a culture of inclusion and diversity under its new owners. EA has not yet responded.
However, in an updated FAQ, the developers of Battlefield, EA Sports FC and The Sims said that the consortium has decided to invest in “the creativity that defines EA.”
“Our mission to inspire the world to play—and build global communities of players and fans—remains unchanged, and our creative freedom and player-centric values will remain unchanged,” the new section reads.
“The Consortium believes in our vision, our leadership and our focus on creating games, stories and content that reflect diverse experiences and bringing them to our global community of players. They invest in the creativity that defines EA.”
