Electronic Arts’ $55 billion deal to sell itself to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, and the private equity firm Silver Lake still has to receive regulatory approval before it’s finalized. However, some Sims fans and creators have been concerned about how Saudi Arabi’s potential control over the company will affect the inclusive nature of the experience. To alleviate those concerns, the developers behind The Sims franchise wants players to know their core values haven’t been changed by this deal.
“The values of The Sims are unchanged,” reads the statement on the franchise’s official page. “Our Sims team’s creative control, guided by our values of inclusivity, choice, creativity, community, and play, has not changed. These values inspire the decisions we make each and every day as we plan for today, tomorrow, and the future.”
Given Saudi Arabi’s history of human rights abuses, the worried reactions from The Sims community appear to be understandable. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren have both raised their concerns about “foreign influence” on EA if the deal goes through. Subsequently, EA has asserted that it will retain creative control of the company following the sale.
