Arabic
A few hours after it was announced that an investment group led by Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners had acquired EA for $55 billion, the company’s next phase strategy began to unfold.
According to a report published by the Financial Times, the new owners plan to rely extensively on artificial intelligence as a key tool to significantly reduce operational costs while boosting profits in the coming years, and this is expected to help manage the large debt resulting from the acquisition, especially since EA has historically been a company with relatively limited debt.
The report indicated that the extensive use of AI technologies will not only be limited to game development, but will extend to support the company’s internal operations, which may give EA greater flexibility in investing its resources and achieving higher financial returns. The move comes at a time when Japanese game companies are increasingly relying on AI for both content generation and programming and design support.
The acquisition was announced on Monday, with an agreement to pay EA shareholders $210 per share, representing a 25% premium over the previous share price and taking the company private after 36 years of trading on the stock exchange.
Although this strategy may give EA a stronger competitive edge in an increasingly competitive market, some analysts warn that over-reliance on AI may negatively affect the creative side of game development, especially since the company’s reputation is tied to major titles such as Battlefield, The Sims, and EA Sports FC.
However, the new owners see AI as the key to striking a balance between minimizing expenses and maximizing revenue, which could determine EA’s future in the years to come.
