EA drowns in debt but promises to keep creative control. „Our creative freedom and player-first values will remain intact”

Electronic Arts is reportedly drowning in debt following a massive transaction, but the company is assuring employees that the upcoming acquisition will not limit the creativity of its creators.

The news about EA being bought by Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners has been buzzing both online and offline. Even politicians have gotten involved, concerned about the Arab influence in the deal, with discussions also touching on the use of AI (so far with little success) and the likely inevitable layoffs.

Investors are betting on EA's "creativity"

The company has tried to reassure its employees by providing them with a document containing frequently asked questions (FAQs). Apparently, the company updated it because the new version was released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC; via GamesRadar).

The content has been enriched with questions such as: "Will the debt impact our ability to invest in and grow the business?" This refers to the $20 billion that is part of the $55 billion intended to finance the transaction. This is referred to as debt financing, which entails using external capital that needs to be repaid later (this category also includes bank loans, among others).

EA is saying that this debt won't slow the company down at all. In fact, the investments from the group taking over will actually speed up innovation and open up new growth opportunities.

In response to questions from the original document, it was also added that the "Consortium believes" in EA's vision, and the company will "retain creative control" over projects developed by creators under the publisher. As they explain, the "Consortium" has invested in the "creativity defining Electronic Arts."

Those promises might sound nice, but they are pretty vague and not very reassuring, so they are probably not going to ease players' worries. They also do not address the issue of integrating AI into the work of developers employed by EA, and the matter of "creative vision" is a topic that raises considerable reluctance among players, despite the enthusiasm of some publishers.

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October 10, 2025

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