Electronic Arts is reportedly preparing widespread cost-cutting measures, including likely layoffs and studio closures, as it works to pay down the roughly $18 billion (£14 billion) debt taken on during its recent buyout. The buyout, by a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, was completed the day before this report, taking EA private. The move matters because it affects one of gaming's largest publishers, whose portfolio includes EA Sports FC, Madden NFL and Battlefield, and raises questions about the future of smaller or underperforming studios and franchises.

According to journalist Jason Schreier, EA plans to repay most of the debt through annual earnings but has also pledged $700 million in cost savings to investors, with $170 million of that coming specifically from "organisational efficiencies" — widely understood to mean restructuring and job losses. Concern has centred particularly on BioWare, which has not produced a commercial hit in over a decade, with sources inside the studio reportedly already anticipating difficult news. The expectation is that EA will now concentrate resources on its biggest, most reliably profitable franchises while lower-performing properties face neglect or closure.