Saudi Arabia EA acquisition?

I've heard Pixelade mention this but not sure how this will influence the future of the game. TS4 is banned in Saudi Arabia, so them to buy it means someone there is very naughty. If this means we will finally get an Aladdin inspired world, complete with pet tiger, I am all for it. Fingers crossed they won't ban the in game crop tops.

"What would happen to mods" is about the last concern on my mind, tbh- EA's supported mods while also aggressively monetizing the game all this time, after all. I'm much more concerned for what such an acquisition would mean for the game's LGBTQ+ content. Not to mention I'm not keen on funding human rights abuses (more than we all get stuck doing simply by existing under modern capitalism, anyway.)

Yes the money is what I was getting at with getting rid of cc (not mods so much), that it could become a massive cash grab to fund things we definitely don't want funded.  Since the game is currently banned in Saudi Arabia I'm not sure they'd care much about censoring in-game content (worldwide, that is) but hopefully that doesn't happen either!

I heard the news today that EA is considering a buyout from at least a couple of anti-diversity financial groups. I hope it isn't true.

If it's true, and if this buyout goes through, it could be the end of The Sims franchise for me.

I have over 6800 hours of playtime in The Sims 4 alone. I have played with a large diversity of households and individual Sims. I've enjoyed it.

I don't want a Sims game where every Sim falls within a narrow set of approved guidelines.

That would be the end of EA, a country that bans most of their games would not know what to do with it. It would just be Elon Musk and Twitter all over again. Billionaires with too much money buying things they don't understand the success of, and ruining it. 

With any luck IP's like the sims and many others in EA's lockbox would get sold in a few years to people capable of doing something with it after EA gets destroyed from within with all their best people leaving, IF this deal goes through. I would hope EA is smarter than this, or has any kind of care for the people they employ and the legacy they build. 

Would that money be worth seeing all they worked on get destroyed? There is no question about that after all when the buyer is a country that bans most of your games. 

Game is already dead to me because to much ads. That flashing cart horror just gets me out of playing. 

So situation stays the same for now. Keep following to see that's going on, until I loose hope the game is ever saved. 

It should change nothing because the goal is still profits (Oil profits replacement in the future), The Sims franchise is an IP with billion dollar profits, one of the pillars supporting EA Entertainment.

It could unlock bigger budget for The Sims, unlocking at the same time the full potential of Maxis. No more 3-month roadmap to impress the shareholders.

I will miss one thing : the quarterly financial results publicly visible.

Well if the Sims comes to an end then it comes to an end it was Eleven years an this version of the game will still feel like an incomplete game, still don't have stuff that simmers have been asking for and it's been years on end but they give us something that no one asked for (journey to Bantuu) the lastest pack is the most exciting pack because it finally has some stuff simmers been asking for, for years but future stuff maybe too late like...

With a company headquarter in California, I don't think EA will stop to support LGBT rights.

Keep in mind Saudi Arabia isn't the only investor , there are others investors.

And I don't think they care about The Sims when EA Sports is a way bigger source of profits.

With 2026 FIFA World Cup in USA , it's the right time to invest in Soccer games as a big boost at a worldwide level.

If they sell to Saudi Arabia it would go to show that all that support was just performative, as it is for most companies. Headquarters can be moved.