It has never been a harder time to work in or play video games. As the industry faces a surge in generative AI and aggressive private equity involvement, a new organization known as the Players Alliance has emerged to push back. Their primary target is the massive $55 billion EA acquisition deal, which would bring the publisher under the control of a consortium including investors linked to Jared Kushner and the Saudi Arabian royal family.
For members of the Players Alliance, this deal is a symptom of a larger rot within the industry. "We're heading toward more private equity coming in, giving us a worse product for more money," says Polly, a member of the group. "Exploiting us, not paying workers, replacing people with robots—just every kind of horrible thing that you can imagine they could do to line their pockets; that's what they're doing."
A Conflict of Values and Control
The scale of the deal is staggering. With EA generating roughly $7.5 billion in annual revenue and $1 billion in annual profit, the $55 billion buyout represents a quarter of the entire gaming industry's projected annual income. Critics fear that this level of monopolization will inevitably lead to worse outcomes for both staff and players.
The United Videogame Workers-CWA union has voiced similar concerns, noting that the deal was negotiated behind closed doors without the input of the developers who built the company's success. "Decisions that shape our jobs, our art, and our futures are made behind closed doors by executives who have never written a line of code, built worlds, or supported live services," the union stated.
There is also deep skepticism regarding EA's claim that its "values" will remain unchanged. Polly notes that EA's primary value has historically been profit, and they are concerned that the new ownership's regressive social policies could lead to the censorship of LGBTQ+ content—a major concern for communities surrounding titles like The Sims and BioWare games.
The Fight for the Future of The Sims
The The Sims community has been particularly vocal in its opposition to the deal. Polly argues that current monetization strategies, such as The Sims Marketplace, suggest a future where the company relies on cheap, fan-made labor instead of hiring professional developers. "They tricked creators into what we would call scabbing to circumvent their cuts," Polly says. "They're not rehiring people who create textures, people who create models. They're not rehiring them because now they have these creators that are going to do that for them."
The Players Alliance is drawing on a history of labor movements, including the formation of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA in the film industry, to organize their efforts. They are currently working alongside groups like Stop Killing Games and the Video Game Workers of America to challenge the acquisition through legal and consumer-based channels.
Despite the influence of their opponents, the group remains committed to their cause. As Polly puts it: "This is our industry. This isn't Jared Kushner's industry. This isn't the Saudi Arabia [royal family’s] industry. This is our industry. We're the ones who built it, and we're the ones who deserve to have a say over it."
The $55 billion deal currently awaits regulatory approval. With over 73,000 signatures on their petition and a history of in-person protests—such as the demonstration at EA's Redwood City headquarters in May—the Players Alliance intends to remain a persistent obstacle for the investors involved.