PIF weighs merging Electronic Arts with Savvy Games: console franchises and mobile hits could end up in one company

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF, which completed its buyout of Electronic Arts in August, is considering merging the publisher with its gaming group Savvy Games Group. Bloomberg reported this, citing sources familiar with the situation. If the plan is approved, The Sims, EA Sports FC and Madden NFL would end up in one company alongside the mobile titles Monopoly GO! and Pokémon GO, which Savvy owns through its studio Scopely.

No decision has been made yet. According to the agency's sources, the deal is still under discussion and is unlikely to happen before Savvy closes its $6 billion acquisition of Chinese mobile developer Moonton. EA and PIF declined to comment.

The fund wants to manage its games through a single entity

According to Bloomberg, PIF's leadership is weighing the creation of one of the world's largest gaming companies to better coordinate its assets. The combined company would give Saudi Arabia a single vehicle for acquisitions, game development and managing intellectual property.

One argument for the merger concerns the business profile. Bloomberg notes that EA is strong on PC and consoles but is considered weaker in mobile, and closer collaboration with Savvy's studios could make up for that. Savvy's main asset, mobile publisher Scopely, puts out Monopoly GO!, Marvel Strike Force, Star Trek Fleet Command, Stumble Guys, Scrabble Go and Yahtzee With Buddies. In 2025, Scopely bought Niantic's games business for $3.5 billion, together with Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now. The Moonton deal will add Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to the portfolio. Another area for Savvy is esports: the group owns ESL FACEIT Group.

The merger would bring together one of the world's largest console and PC game publishers and one of the most successful mobile companies. It is not yet clear whether EA would remain a separate company within the new structure or be absorbed by Savvy (or vice versa), nor how the deal would affect PIF's partners in the EA buyout, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners.

PIF has spent several years assembling gaming assets

A PIF-led consortium that also included Silver Lake and Affinity Partners signed the agreement to acquire EA in 2025. The deal was worth $55 billion. It is the largest leveraged buyout in history, and it left the company with $20 billion in additional debt. Since August 5, 2026, EA has been controlled by the consortium and has become a private company for the first time in three decades. PIF holds the controlling stake; the fund is also a major investor in Affinity Partners.

The fund-controlled Savvy Games Group acquired Scopely for $4.9 billion in 2023 and merged esports operators ESL and FACEIT into ESL FACEIT Group. In 2022, Savvy invested $1 billion in Embracer Group. As of the start of this year, Savvy held shares in gaming companies worth about $12 billion, including Nintendo and Bandai Namco; these stakes were transferred to it by PIF. The fund also holds stakes in Capcom, SNK and Take-Two.

Reports of the merger emerged shortly after a leadership change at Savvy: Brian Ward, who had set the company the goal of becoming “the number one gaming and esports company in the world” and sought partners in China and elsewhere in Asia, announced a departure from the CEO post. Turqi Alnowaiser, PIF's deputy governor and head of its international investments division, has taken over the group on an interim basis. According to PocketGamer.biz, Alnowaiser was involved in the EA acquisition.

What this means for the industry

The possible merger looks like a continuation of the strategy PIF has pursued in recent years: the fund appears to be moving from minority stakes in other companies to controlling its own studios, and is gathering scattered assets in one place. The transfer of shares to Savvy and the talks about combining with EA are probably links in the same process.

If the deal goes through, EA could gain access to Scopely's and Moonton's expertise in mobile live-service games and their monetization, while Savvy would get a catalog of major PC and console franchises. Attempts to bring well-known EA series to mobile platforms and to use EA's production resources in mobile studios' projects can be expected. For artists and developers, this could mean more cross-platform projects and shared technology solutions within the holding company.

There are risks, too. Mergers of major publishers are usually accompanied by restructuring and cuts to duplicate functions, so employees at both companies may face reorganization, although nothing is known about such plans yet. Given the debt load EA took on with the buyout, the new owners will likely look for ways to boost efficiency. In addition, such a deal would require regulatory approval.

The next milestones are the closing of the Moonton deal and the appointment of a permanent head of Savvy. These steps will likely determine when and in what form PIF consolidates its gaming assets into one company.

Community reaction

News of a possible merger between Electronic Arts and Savvy Games has spread mainly through gaming media, while live discussion remains muted and confined to comment sections. The overall tone is skepticism and concern rather than excitement. Players link the move to further market consolidation and fear that console franchises will end up under the same roof as mobile hits like Pokémon GO: they expect even more in-game purchases and versions where advantages are sold for money. Separately, the Counter-Strike community points out that Savvy already owns ESL and FACEIT, and a merger with EA would give a single owner too much influence over the discipline. Another thread comes from the Persian Gulf region: part of the audience sees a logical expansion of PIF's portfolio and even suggests “pushing” Savvy harder, since, in their words, it barely releases any games itself. There is also industry optimism — a vision of a large ecosystem of sports, esports and fan entertainment — but it is immediately countered: the quality of EA's sports series was already declining due to weak competition, and yet another merger will do nothing for players. No decision has been made, so the tone is more wait-and-see and sarcastic than mass protest.

“I'm skeptical. The quality of EA's sports games has dropped sharply — mostly due to a lack of competition. Further consolidation in the industry will do nothing for consumers.”

— @salogaviriab (X)

“Already looking forward to the mobile answer to Mass Effect, where you buy victory with money.”

— @VTchuiev (X)

“A shame that one of the most historic companies in the industry ends up like this.”

— @MakoverGeek (X)

What is behind the idea of merging EA with Savvy: the chase for a mobile audience, savings on duplicate teams, PIF's gaming ambitions?