It isn't hugely surprising to hear that generative AI is a big part of the vision for EA's second coming as a private company, as reported by insiders.
The buyers are committing $36 billion of their own equity (briefly and inexpertly, “equity” is the value of your assets after you deduct anything you owe), including the value of the PIF’s existing investments in EA. They’re making up the rest of the total thanks to a $20 billion loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank. How will they manage that massive debt? According to the Financial Times, who cite unnamed insiders, they’re gambling on the deployment of generative AI tools as a gigantic cost-saving measure.
“The investors are betting that AI-based cost cuts will significantly boost EA’s profits in the coming years, people involved in the transaction told the Financial Times,” the paper wrote (paywall) in their own coverage of the story. The FT elsewhere commented that the acquisition “is a huge bet that artificial intelligence can significantly cut EA’s operating costs, allowing the equity consortium to manage a large debt load on a company that historically carried limited net debt.”
E: just noticed I’ve been playing EA games since M.U.L.E. on the C-64. Say what you want about the company itself, but they have a long history of making games people want to play. Been playing the entire Battlefield franchise since 1942. Sucks that you can’t play 2142 or even Hardline anymore.
This is assuming people will pay money to play AI slop. These companies continue to vastly overestimate the value of AI produced content. It might be passable on like, bags of candy, maybe even occasionally passable on like free webcomics. And low quality website design. Maybe some simple cash grab mobile games that get taken down after a couple weeks due to the obvious scams.
But paid video games? Which theyre already charging absurd prices for? No. This bubble will burst and companies that continue producing actual games will come out ahead. Companies that are foolishly going all in on entirely unproven technology will crumble.
It’s probably AI videos games made by AI for AI to play. People need to do stuff like mining and growing organs, they can’t do anything nice anymore like play games
I mean… you’re talking about the company that makes billions of dollars a year on FIFA games, which are already only one step removed from AI slop. I don’t seriously think EA’s customer base will care; the quality of the games made by EA is already low enough that I don’t believe the use of AI will move the needle. And honestly, will anyone care if it’s AI updating the rosters and title to FIFA 26? I guess I feel bad for the working devs putting food on their table, but is that the job that want?
I really do genuinely believe that AI content is a substantial drop in quality even from minimal effort content. They’d better invest their time moving to a subscription model. And evidently, whatever theyre currently doing isnt working or they wouldnt be in this situation in the first place. So, id say, firing everyone and moving to AI based content is unlikely to save them and I would believe likely to make their situation much worse.
A lot of what this means is a pivot to the highest yield games. So… more GACHA and other lootbox style gaming. Cheaper assets, more redundancy in levels, shorter and cheaper cut scenes, etc.
But this is normal operating procedure in a bust-out style business model. EA’s going to be boiled down and stripped just like so many prior studios, from THQ to Bioware.
FIFA and Madden have been dog shit iterations for years and years and people keep buying them. Plus Battlefield 6 might actually be good and will test plenty of people (like me) who said “never again” long ago. Luckily I probably won’t actually be tempted because of EA anti cheat and Linux incompatibility.
I was all up for BF6. It releases in two weeks. A bunch of friends are going to get it. I was a bit annoyed that it was the only reason I’d still be using windows11 but I was prepared to wear it. But Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, fuck.that.noise. No way am I giving that cunt anti-cheat access to my computer.
I just uninstalled EA launcher because it’s a fucking cancer and I see this afterwards… If it’s not on Steam it’s piracy material from here on out. Fuck all other launchers/services except GoG, GoG is cool too.
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The image being so small makes it funnier.
I’ll take that bet.
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Well, they’re fucked then
So ToyRUs 2.0 then?
samesies!
Bye EA. Was nice knowing you.
E: just noticed I’ve been playing EA games since M.U.L.E. on the C-64. Say what you want about the company itself, but they have a long history of making games people want to play. Been playing the entire Battlefield franchise since 1942. Sucks that you can’t play 2142 or even Hardline anymore.
OMG I played so much M.U.L.E on the C64. Archon and Jumpman, also.
Note to readers: 1942 is the name of a game, not the year of release
Hence the italics to denote a title and not a generic date.
Italics can also denote emphasis.
They can. But not in this case.
This is assuming people will pay money to play AI slop. These companies continue to vastly overestimate the value of AI produced content. It might be passable on like, bags of candy, maybe even occasionally passable on like free webcomics. And low quality website design. Maybe some simple cash grab mobile games that get taken down after a couple weeks due to the obvious scams.
But paid video games? Which theyre already charging absurd prices for? No. This bubble will burst and companies that continue producing actual games will come out ahead. Companies that are foolishly going all in on entirely unproven technology will crumble.
It’s probably AI videos games made by AI for AI to play. People need to do stuff like mining and growing organs, they can’t do anything nice anymore like play games
I mean… you’re talking about the company that makes billions of dollars a year on FIFA games, which are already only one step removed from AI slop. I don’t seriously think EA’s customer base will care; the quality of the games made by EA is already low enough that I don’t believe the use of AI will move the needle. And honestly, will anyone care if it’s AI updating the rosters and title to FIFA 26? I guess I feel bad for the working devs putting food on their table, but is that the job that want?
Don’t they not make FIFA anymore because they didn’t want to pay for the license?
FIFA 2026 just came out four days ago, so I’m pretty sure they still make it.
You mean EA Sports FC 26? Which has been stripped of FIFA branding?
Oh I see, you were just being pedantic for no reason.
No I was being pedantic because that’s how licensing works and the game “FIFA 26” does not exist.
I really do genuinely believe that AI content is a substantial drop in quality even from minimal effort content. They’d better invest their time moving to a subscription model. And evidently, whatever theyre currently doing isnt working or they wouldnt be in this situation in the first place. So, id say, firing everyone and moving to AI based content is unlikely to save them and I would believe likely to make their situation much worse.
hope they least long enough to release the worst game in history.
I can’t wait for this “investment” to go so down the drain for them…
A lot of what this means is a pivot to the highest yield games. So… more GACHA and other lootbox style gaming. Cheaper assets, more redundancy in levels, shorter and cheaper cut scenes, etc.
But this is normal operating procedure in a bust-out style business model. EA’s going to be boiled down and stripped just like so many prior studios, from THQ to Bioware.
Can’t wait to watch EA scrape by with Gacha games while SE Asia game companies destroy them with their Gacha games.
Oh, that’s not going to be a problem. We’re just going to firewall off all the SE Asian companies with tariffs and sanctions.
What SE Asia companies have any success with gacha? Most of them are Japanese, Korean and China.
Business majors are so incredibly dumb. Why did we as a society decide they were so important?
EAAI
There’s a huge bet that most of us are going to boycott this tomfuckery and do no further business with EA.
Already have.
Unfortunately, will the EA Sports fans and Battlefield fans do the same?
No… They won’t. But the rest of us free thinkers will. Is it a win? I dunno. I’ll carry that flag tho.
If they hadn’t left already, they never will.
FIFA and Madden have been dog shit iterations for years and years and people keep buying them. Plus Battlefield 6 might actually be good and will test plenty of people (like me) who said “never again” long ago. Luckily I probably won’t actually be tempted because of EA anti cheat and Linux incompatibility.
I was all up for BF6. It releases in two weeks. A bunch of friends are going to get it. I was a bit annoyed that it was the only reason I’d still be using windows11 but I was prepared to wear it. But Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, fuck.that.noise. No way am I giving that cunt anti-cheat access to my computer.
Haha what a shit headline. But hey, why not blame it on AI? Maybe the suckers getting played won’t realize it’s just the same old PE scam.
‘We bought you, you owe us money’ is theft with more steps.
In the example of Toys’r’us, it ends up being theft against other creditors, suppliers, workers, etc, who end up not getting paid when it collapses.
In bankruptcies the entity who introduced the debt should be liable for it (the new parent company)
This will be fun to watch. Maybe not for 14 500 EA employees. I kindly suggest them to leave as soon as possible.
Indeed. I think it would be in their best interest to find work elsewhere before they end up getting laid off at the most inconvenient time.
Beyond that it should be amusing to watch this company go down in flames.
I just uninstalled EA launcher because it’s a fucking cancer and I see this afterwards… If it’s not on Steam it’s piracy material from here on out. Fuck all other launchers/services except GoG, GoG is cool too.
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