Electronic Arts is close to a deal worth roughly $50 billion to go private, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter — a transaction that would rank among the largest in videogame industry history and remove one of the sector's biggest publishers from public markets.

The WSJ report, published Tuesday, described the deal as near but not final. It did not name the acquiring party or parties, specify the structure of the financing, or indicate an expected signing date. EA has not commented publicly, and no regulatory filings have confirmed the negotiations.

What does a take-private mean for EA?

If completed, the deal would end EA's run as a publicly traded company and hand control to private investors. For the publisher's leadership, that shift typically means freedom from quarterly earnings pressure and public-market scrutiny of live-service performance, release slippage and restructuring decisions.

For EA's studios and business units, the operational question is continuity: a private owner could preserve current publishing plans or push for faster cost discipline. The WSJ report does not detail any intended strategy changes, headcount plans or portfolio decisions, so the near-term effect on development teams remains unspecified.

How does the price compare?

The reported figure of roughly $50 billion would place the transaction among the biggest the games industry has seen. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard closed at $68.7 billion in October 2023, and Take-Two's pending bid for Zynga valued that deal around $12.7 billion when announced. EA, publisher of EA Sports FC, Battlefield, The Sims and Apex Legends, would be the largest games-only take-private on record if the reported terms hold.

The exact per-share price, premium over EA's trading level and financing mix were not disclosed in the report.

What is unconfirmed?

Several core facts remain open:

• The identity of the buyer or investor group
• Whether the deal involves debt financing and how much
• A board vote, signing date or closing timeline
• Any regulatory review requirements in the US, EU or other markets

Until EA or the counterparty confirms the transaction, the $50 billion figure stands as a report from sources speaking to the WSJ, not a disclosed term sheet.

Why it matters for the industry

A privatized EA would change the calculus for licensing partners, platform holders and rival publishers that benchmark against EA's live-service economics — its Ultimate Team monetization model, annualized sports releases and free-to-play portfolio. Private ownership could also reshape how EA deploys capital into acquisitions of its own, an area where the company has historically been selective.

For investors and analysts, the deal would be the strongest signal yet that large-cap game publishers see more value outside public markets than within them, following years of sector-wide valuation pressure.

Watch for an official announcement or denial from EA, alongside any movement in the company's share price when markets next trade — a sharp rally toward the reported valuation would be the clearest market confirmation that investors treat the deal as real.