The $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) by a consortium including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners and Silver Lake has been causing a stir among fans of the various series owned by EA.
Fans of EA-owned BioWare are concerned about the involvement of PIF due to the prevalence of progressive messaging in the studio's series, which people fear may be under threat. Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, with the country's laws allowing the use of the death penalty for individuals engaging in homosexual acts.
In a recent video about the acquisition, former Dragon Age director Mark Darrah pondered the future of BioWare and the studio's messaging going forward.
"If this is a PR move for the Saudi government as much as it is a financial one, the studios that don't have much of a track record, what you might do is just come in and put your thumb on the scale and push their messaging in the directions you want, or at the very least steer them away from messaging that makes you look bad," Darrah says.
"But for the studios that have more of a track record, especially a track record...
