Explaining why The Sims players are terrified after EA bought by ‘conservative groups’

EA Games, who own and create The Sims franchise, yesterday revealed it had been acquired in an unprecedented purchase of $55 billion by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners. This takes EA private, and could mean huge changes for The Sims – and players are absolutely terrified of what might happen to the beloved franchise. Most of this fear comes out of the fact that The Sims is an incredibly progressive and boundary pushing game that has always reflected diversity – or tried to. Here’s what EA getting bought actually could mean for The Sims and why the community of players are so worried.

What this could mean for The Sims

Players are worried if new stakeholders, particularly from regions with stricter cultural norms, could affect what kind of content EA produces or approves. Even if that doesn’t happen directly, the perception of outside influence could impact how fans feel about the company.

Finally, going private means less transparency. EA will no longer have to release detailed financial and development updates the way it did as a public company. While this gives EA more freedom behind the scenes, it also makes it harder for players and the press to hold the company accountable. Combined with concerns over Saudi Arabia’s involvement and its human rights record, the buyout is just giving players a deeply troubled feeling.

The biggest Sims creators are speaking out against it

Kayla, best known as Lilsimsie and someone who is always outspoken about her beliefs and ethics, and she’s done a big statement about the acquisition.

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Kayla said: “EA just announced an agreement to be sold to private investors for $55 billion. This kind of private sale is unprecedented in gaming, and it’s a record breaking deal. They will be acquired by PIF (Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia – the country’s sovereign wealth fund), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners (Jared Kusher’s private investment firm, Jared Kushner is married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump). The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the 2027 fiscal year.

“This news is extremely scary to me, and it makes me deeply worried about the future of The Sims with EA
now being owned by such a conservative group. The Sims has been a very inclusive game for a long time, and it horrifies me to think of them rolling back any of that progress or somehow censoring the game.

“Making a change like that would alienate the entire player base of The Sims, and I think it would be an incredibly stupid and shortsighted move from the new investors that would backfire heavily.”

A big example of the type of worry here over The Sims and EA being bought by the companies mentioned above is even seen in the box artworks for games. The Sims 2 box art is utter brilliant chaos, featuring a lot of diversity, snogging and an alien. The version that was released in the Middle East is just all of male Sims.

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