They're going to have to gut studios and make the cheapest possible product
For more than thirty years, Electronic Arts has been a quiet pillar of Canada's creative economy, its studios in Burnaby and beyond shaping games played by millions worldwide. Now a $55 billion sale to a consortium anchored by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and a private equity firm tied to Jared Kushner has prompted a Canadian union to ask a fundamental question: when a nation's cultural and digital infrastructure changes hands across borders, who is responsible for what is lost? The deal, expected to close in early 2027, sits at the intersection of national security, data sovereignty, and the fragile livelihoods of workers in a $5.1 billion industry — and the regulatory answers, so far, remain unspoken.
- A $55 billion acquisition would transfer one of Canada's most embedded gaming companies to a foreign consortium carrying $20 billion in debt, raising immediate fears that cost-cutting will hollow out studios that took decades to build.
- CWA Canada warns that EA's vast troves of Canadian gamer data — financial records, health information, behavioral profiles — could fall under the reach of a Saudi state that operates outside Canada's privacy and accountability frameworks.
- The union's alarm is sharpened by fresh wounds across the industry: Ubisoft's recent Canadian layoffs and Microsoft's absorption of Activision Blizzard have left workers watching the horizon with dread.
- Letters to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and the Competition Bureau have gone unanswered in any meaningful way, with both citing confidentiality provisions that shield the review's substance from public scrutiny.
- The Competition Bureau closed its review with an outcome listed only as 'other' — a bureaucratic silence that tells workers and advocates nothing about whether protections are coming or whether the window is already closing.
Electronic Arts arrived in Canada in 1991 with the acquisition of a Burnaby game studio, and over three decades grew into a cornerstone of the country's $5.1 billion gaming industry, with five Canadian offices contributing to franchises like EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, and The Sims. That history now hangs in the balance as a $55 billion deal would hand control of the company to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, a private equity firm owned by Jared Kushner, and a third investment group — a transaction the Communications Workers of America Canada is urging the federal government to scrutinize before it closes in early 2027.
Carmel Smyth, president of CWA Canada, represents hundreds of video game workers across the country, though none currently at EA. She fears the acquisition will set off a wave of layoffs and consolidation across the entire sector. The concern is not abstract: Ubisoft has already cut Canadian staff, and Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard has left the industry on edge. Smyth worries that private equity ownership, backed by $20 billion in debt, will trade creative ambition for cheaper, faster production — and that a company of EA's scale, under new ownership, will reshape competition in ways that hurt everyone who remains.
The union's concerns reach beyond jobs. EA collects financial data, health information, and behavioral patterns from millions of Canadian gamers. CWA Canada argues that Saudi ownership could expose that data to a foreign state with weaker privacy protections and less regulatory accountability than Canadians expect. EA has offered little comfort, stating only that there would be "no immediate changes" to jobs or operations. The Saudi Public Investment Fund, Kushner's Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake all declined to respond.
The regulatory picture is murky. The Competition Bureau completed its review in late March but listed the outcome as "other" — a designation that forecloses none of the usual conclusions and explains nothing. The government similarly cited confidentiality provisions and declined to comment. With the deal on track to close in the first quarter of 2027, the union's window to influence the outcome is narrowing, and the question of whether Canadian regulators will act remains, for now, unanswered.
Electronic Arts has been woven into Canada's video game industry for more than three decades. The company arrived in 1991 when it acquired Distinctive Software, a Burnaby, British Columbia developer, and has since grown to operate five Canadian offices that have been central to creating some of the world's most popular games—the EA Sports FC franchise, Madden NFL, The Sims. These studios have become anchors in a domestic gaming sector worth $5.1 billion annually.
Now a Canadian union is asking the federal government to stop a $55 billion takeover that would hand control of EA to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, a private equity firm owned by Jared Kushner, and another investment group. The Communications Workers of America Canada argues the deal poses risks to national security and Canadian jobs that warrant investigation before the sale closes, expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Carmel Smyth, president of CWA Canada, represents hundreds of video game workers across the country, though none currently at EA. She worries the acquisition will trigger a cascade of layoffs and consolidation that will reshape the entire sector. The timing feels particularly precarious. Ubisoft recently cut staff in Canada. Microsoft absorbed Activision Blizzard. Everyone remaining in the industry is watching nervously. "There's no way that people who work in the industry won't be affected over the long term when a company this size will come in, crush the competition and redesign the industry," Smyth said. The union fears that private equity ownership, especially ownership financed with $20 billion in debt, will prioritize cost-cutting over creative ambition—that the era of developers spending years perfecting a single vision will give way to pressure to produce cheaper products faster.
The union's concerns extend beyond employment. In letters sent to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly in May and to the Competition Bureau in December, CWA Canada raised the prospect of sensitive data exposure. EA collects financial information, health data, and behavioral patterns from millions of Canadian gamers. Under Saudi ownership, that information could be accessed by a foreign state with different standards of privacy protection and regulatory accountability than Canada maintains. "We're equally concerned because it's Saudi Arabia," Smyth said, "noting the country does not necessarily have the kind of regulation, accountability and transparency that we might expect in Canada."
EA itself has offered limited reassurance. In a staff memo circulated last year, the company stated there would be "no immediate changes" to jobs or daily work as a result of the transaction. The company declined to comment on the union's concerns. The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which already holds a minority stake in EA and Nintendo, did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Kushner's Affinity Partners or Silver Lake.
The regulatory path forward remains opaque. The Competition Bureau completed its review of the merger in late March, but the outcome is listed as "other"—a category that means none of the bureau's typical conclusions apply. A spokesperson said confidentiality requirements prevent disclosure of further details. The government, through Joly's office, similarly cited confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act and declined to comment. The union's window to influence the outcome is narrowing as the deal moves toward closure, leaving the question of whether Canadian regulators will intervene unresolved.
Citas Notables
There's no way that people who work in the industry won't be affected over the long term when a company this size will come in, crush the competition and redesign the industry.— Carmel Smyth, CWA Canada president
We're equally concerned because it's Saudi Arabia, noting the country does not necessarily have the kind of regulation, accountability and transparency that we might expect in Canada.— Carmel Smyth, on data privacy risks
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a Saudi fund buying a video game company matter to Canada specifically?
Because EA isn't just any company—it's been building games here for thirty years, employing hundreds across five offices. If the new owners restructure to cut costs, those jobs disappear. And because games collect intimate data about players, there's a question about who controls that information.
The union says the deal is financed with $20 billion in debt. Why does that matter?
Debt has to be serviced. That pressure often means layoffs and cost-cutting. The union is saying private equity owners will strip studios down to their cheapest possible operation, not their best.
What does "other" mean when the Competition Bureau says the outcome is "other"?
Nobody knows. The bureau won't say. It's not a typical approval, not a typical rejection, not a typical conditional approval. It's something else entirely, and they're keeping it confidential.
Could the government actually stop this deal?
Theoretically yes, under the Investment Canada Act, if they determine it harms national security. But they haven't said they will. The union is hoping the window before closure in early 2027 gives them time to push for intervention.
What's the union most afraid of?
That EA becomes just another cost center for private equity. That the creative people leave or get fired. That competition in the industry collapses because one massive player is now owned by a foreign state with different rules.
Has EA responded to any of this?
Not really. They said jobs are safe in a memo. They declined to comment on the union's specific concerns. The silence is part of what worries people.