Employees at Electronic Arts are voicing fears over layoffs and creative interference following the completion of the company's leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, which has taken EA private. According to a Game Developer report based on interviews with anonymous staff, workers feel EA's culture lacks the moral conviction to have avoided the deal, given the Saudi state's stance on LGBTQ+ and ethnic minority rights, yet many feel unable to leave due to the difficulty of finding comparable jobs elsewhere in the current market.

Staff cited in the report warned that creative decisions may increasingly be shaped by unspoken alignment with Saudi interests rather than explicit directives, and that layoffs are now seen as a constant risk, possibly carried out in smaller waves to avoid formal WARN notice requirements. The leveraged buyout structure, which loads EA with debt to be repaid from earnings, has fuelled concerns that underperforming teams or games could be dissolved or sold off. Staff described EA's reassurances as vague, pointed to a hot-mic incident where an executive reportedly muttered "little babies" after employee concerns were raised, and noted the company has been promoting a potential share payout as a sweetener amid the uncertainty.