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W<\/span>hen Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision-Blizzard for a touch over $68bn in 2022, it was the biggest deal ever struck in the games industry, and one of the most surprising. But that shock pales into comparison to the reaction to the latest big move in the industry: EA (Electronic Arts), the publisher best known for its juggernaut sports games Madden and EA Sports FC (previously called Fifa), is being taken private in the \u201cbiggest leveraged buyout in history\u201d. It\u2019s a deal worth $55bn, by a trio of investors who, on paper, look like a collection of end-of-level bosses.<\/p>\n Enter player one: Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund. The Saudi royal family has been investing its wealth in video games for some years now, and owns its own Savvy Games Group, led by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, perhaps best known for mass-arresting his own citizens and ordering the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Player two: Affinity Partners, an investment company led by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the current US president. And player three: Silver Lake, just your run-of-the-mill evil private equity firm, which currently owns a large stake in game engine-maker Unity. Game File\u2019s Stephen Totilo noticed that Affinity Partners\u2019 logo is a mirror image of that used by the evil corporation in the Assassin\u2019s Creed series. Truly you couldn\u2019t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n You might be wondering why Saudi Arabia has been pumping so much money into video games. It has invested heavily in esports, setting up the eSports World Cup in Riyadh; bought up the makers of Monopoly Go and <\/em>Pok\u00e9mon Go; and bought stakes in many other game companies, including Nintendo. (Game File has a comprehensive rundown of where Saudi money can be found in the industry.) The regime is doing this for the same reason that it has thrown money into sports, media and, very recently, comedy: to improve its international image and distract from the numerous human rights abuses taking place at the regime\u2019s request. It\u2019s pure whitewashing. Or, in this case, gameswashing. It says much about the cultural power of gaming.<\/p>\n <\/span>Mohammed bin Salman.<\/span> Photograph: Saudi Royal Court\/Reuters<\/p>\n As for Affinity Partners and Silver Lake: well. There\u2019s money to be made. EA made over $2bn in profit last financial year, driven largely by its sports franchises. It owns The Sims and Battlefield, too, both series that could be any other publisher\u2019s biggest hit. EA used to be a much broader-interest publisher, and owns 30 years\u2019 worth of wildly varied games properties as a result, from RPG Dragon Age to co-op hit It Takes Two and underrated sci-fi shooter Titanfall. But in the past decade or so, under the leadership of current CEO Andrew Wilson, it has concentrated its efforts mainly on its most profitable sports franchises.<\/p>\n Negative reaction to the deal has, inevitably, focused on the Saudi involvement, something that EA\u2019s many thousands of working developers and millions of players are deeply unsettled by (especially as The Sims has one of the largest LGBTQ+ followings of any game out there). Among business journalists and analysts, meanwhile, views are mixed. Kotaku\u2019s Ethan Gach spoke to several of them for this article, from which one quote, from NYU\u2019s Joost van Dreunen, stood out: \u201cAt the center sits the irrational financial logic that tells you it\u2019s about power, prestige, and staking Saudi Arabia\u2019s claim in American entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n Business-world commentary has highlighted the fact that the buyout deal will saddle EA with an eye-watering $20bn in debt \u2013 debt that is likely to be very high-interest, Bloomberg claims. This raises concerning questions about how EA\u2019s new owners expect to pay this off. Yet more cuts and downsizing? Juicing up the profits from things like EA Sports FC\u2019s Ultimate Team mode? Reviving EA\u2019s flagging mobile games business? It seems highly unlikely that it will be business as usual for the people actually working at EA, or for players.<\/p>\n Electronic Arts is not gaming\u2019s best-loved publisher, not by a long shot. But as a player, even if you don\u2019t like the way EA goes about its business and you don\u2019t much care for Apex Legends or Madden, it\u2019s important think of the thousands who work there. These are people who often go on to develop titles everywhere else in the industry, perhaps making games more to their own taste (and to yours). Even without the involvement of an oppressive regime, this kind of private equity buyout is rarely a positive thing, either for the people who work at the company or for the health of the industry. If you\u2019re a Fifa fan, think of Manchester United, saddled with hundreds of millions in expensive debt after a takeover \u2013 and going nowhere but down ever since.<\/p>\n There is at least one person the deal brought joy to, however: CEO Andrew Wilson. \u201cThis moment is a recognition of your creativity, your innovation, and your passion \u2026 Everything we have achieved\u2013and everything that lies ahead\u2013is because of you,\u201d he wrote to EA\u2019s employees in an internal email announcing the deal (now public here). \u201cOur values and our commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged. With continued rigor and operational excellence, we can amplify the creativity of our teams, accelerate innovation, and pursue transformative opportunities that position EA to lead the future of entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson owns tens of millions in EA shares, each being sold for \u00a3157 if and when this deal goes through. Doesn\u2019t that warm even the biggest cynic\u2019s heart?<\/p>\n <\/span>Ghost of Yotei.<\/span> Photograph: undefined\/Sony\/Sucker Punch<\/p>\n It is astounding that two different, inordinately expensive and impressively beautiful historical fiction games set in Japan have been released just six months apart, but here we are.<\/p>\n Ghost of Y\u014dtei<\/strong> is out tomorrow and, just like Assassin\u2019s Creed Shadows, it stars a female warrior on a revenge quest across the most beautiful gaming landscapes you\u2019ve ever seen. I enjoyed Shadows earlier this year \u2013 you can\u2019t fault its gorgeousness and the quality of its performances \u2013 but I\u2019m enjoying Y\u014dtei more. Riding around northern Japan, following birds and foxes and the distant screams of people who might need saving, is much more exciting without a map or magic X-ray vision that tells you where the bad guys are. It has a great many enjoyable little interludes where you\u2019re using the controller to hammer a sword at a forge or blow on embers to light a campfire or paint a sumi-e ink artwork, rather than just <\/em>disembowelling people. The combat is straightforwardly great, a dangerous dance that feels surprisingly like old-school SoulCalibur in the one-on-one duels. Ghost of Tsushima left me slightly cold five years ago, so I\u2019m surprised by how much I love this \u2013 it helps that protagonist Atsu is seemingly much less conflicted in her role of blade-whirling death-dealer than Tsushima\u2019s morose protagonist Jin.<\/p>\n Available on: <\/strong>PlayStation 5 skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sign up to Pushing Buttons<\/span><\/p>\n Keza MacDonald’s weekly look at the world of gaming<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n <\/span>A promotional image from Bully.<\/span> Photograph: Rockstar Games<\/p>\n IGN interviewed Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser<\/strong> at LA Comic Con recently, who is usually a very elusive character. His favourite game he ever worked on: Red Dead Redemption 2. He also expressed some regret that the studio never made a follow-up to boarding-school satire Bully.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Insomniac Games\u2019 Wolverine<\/strong> game finally has a gameplay trailer! Given the quality of its Spider-Man adaptations, hopes are high for this. It\u2019s out around this time next year. As a huge appreciator of Housemarque\u2019s punishing sci-fi game Returnal, I was also psyched to see footage of its follow up, Saros, which will be out in March 2026.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n ROG Xbox Ally<\/strong>\/Ally X, the abominably-named handheld Xbox-compatible games machine, will cost \u00a3500\/\u00a3800, Microsoft has confirmed. That puts it about on par with the Steam Deck.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Nintendo of America\u2019s president Doug Bowser<\/strong> \u2013 how\u2019s that for a case of nominative determination? \u2013 is retiring. He\u2019ll be replaced by Devon Pritchard, who\u2019s been at Nintendo for 19 years. Presumably, she\u2019ll be changing her name to Devon Ganon any day now. In other Nintendo news: a pop-up version of its Japanese department stores will open in London later this month, merch fans.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/span>Astro\u2019s Playroom.<\/span> Photograph: Sony<\/p>\n This week, reader Kevin <\/strong>asks:<\/p>\n \u201cI have developed an interest in gaming at the age of 68. I bought a PS5 Pro and am awaiting its arrival. What I would like to know is, are there any explanations and examples of how to use the controller? I have never gamed before so this is all new to me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Welcome to video games, Kevin! I am absolutely delighted whenever someone writes in to tell me that they\u2019ve decided to get into gaming, especially if Pushing Buttons had anything to do with it.<\/p>\n The very best tutorial for the PS5 controller is, my opinion, Astro\u2019s Playroom \u2013 a powerfully adorable game about little robots that live inside the PlayStation. It is a short and highly enjoyable crash course in the PS5\u2019s unique features, and it\u2019s also the game that taught my two sons how to use a more complex controller. If you really like it, get the full-length follow up Astro Bot, our game of the year pick from 2024.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a question for Question Block \u2013 or anything else to say about the newsletter \u2013 hit reply or email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision-Blizzard for a touch over $68bn in 2022, it was the biggest deal ever struck in the games industry, and one of the most surprising. But that shock pales into comparison to the reaction to the latest big move in the industry: EA (Electronic Arts), the publisher best<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[5809,696,14573,378,9090,2658,15223],"class_list":{"0":"post-25166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-acquire","9":"tag-deal","10":"tag-enormous","11":"tag-games","12":"tag-matters","13":"tag-play","14":"tag-saudiled"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What to play<\/h2>\n
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