Electronic Arts has officially completed its transition to a private company following a massive acquisition by a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake. Completing the sale on August 4, 2026, EA has ceased trading on the NASDAQ for the first time in 36 years, with shareholders receiving $210 per share.

The deal leaves EA burdened with $18 billion in debt, resulting in annual interest payments of approximately $1.8 billion. To balance its finances—given an annual EBITDA of roughly $1.5 billion—the newly privatized publisher is targeting $700 million in annual cost reductions. Notably, this plan includes $170 million designated for "organizational efficiencies," a common precursor to significant workforce reductions.

The potential cuts follow a broader trend of industry-wide downsizing, which has already seen over 9,000 job losses in 2026 alone. The financial pressure comes despite high executive compensation; EA's latest SEC filing revealed CEO Andrew Wilson received over $38 million in total compensation for the recent fiscal year, an $8 million increase over the previous year, driven in part by the launch of Battlefield 6.