It’s bigger than gaming: Why the FTC shouldn’t rubber-stamp the EA buyout

A few weeks before federal regulators are expected to make a decision on the proposed $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, EA announced another round of layoffs affecting employees in customer support, trust and safety, recruitment and information technology.

The European Union’s regulators are expected to finalize the terms of the deal sometime this week. U.S. regulators are likely coming close to their own decision.

In the gaming industry, it has become an increasingly familiar story. Thousands of game developers, artists, engineers, quality assurance workers and support staff have lost their jobs as publishers have consolidated, reorganized and searched for new ways to improve margins.

The latest cuts at EA reportedly affected employees responsible for helping players resolve problems, moderating online communities and maintaining trust and safety systems. Those jobs may not generate headlines, but they are often among the first things players notice when they disappear.

As a member of the Players Alliance, I’ve spent the past year talking with gamers who are frustrated by the direction of the industry. Some are worried about layoffs. Others are frustrated by rising prices, subscriptions, microtransactions and what feels like a constant effort to squeeze more revenue from players.

What unites many of those concerns is a growing sense that the people making decisions about games are increasingly distant from the communities that actually play them. That helps explain why opposition to the proposed EA acquisition has grown beyond a small group of activists or industry........

© The Hill