Ever since Grand Theft Auto 6 was formally announced, the prospect of video games becoming even more expensive has been looming over the industry. That fear was realized when the Nintendo Switch 2’s released earlier this year — many of its exclusive titles are now priced at $80, an increase to the standard “next-gen” price, which has been $70 for the better part of the decade.
However, to this point, video game publishers have mostly resisted the urge to push the cost of video games into three figures. However, according to some research, EA’s recent sale could change that.
I’d like to give a big thanks to Esports Insider for conducting the research used in this article (ht/ Bhernardo Viana). If you’d like to know more about this situation in-depth, check out the original article here.
The Economics Behind The EA Deal
According to finance expert Professor Rob Wilson, Director of Executive Education at the University Campus of Football Business in London (who gave an interview with the aforementioned Esports Insider), EA’s leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners could fast-track the normalization of $100 price tags for AAA games, perhaps even before Grand Theft Auto 6 hits store shelves.
Wilson calls the transaction “massive,” but unsurprising given EA’s trajectory. Roughly 75% of the publisher’s $7.5 billion in net revenue now comes from live services, which include everything from Ultimate Team packs to battle passes across Apex Legends to the multitude of expansion packs for The Sims 4. Those recurring models have transformed EA from a traditional publisher into what Wilson describes as “a digital entertainment powerhouse with 700 million accounts and market-leading IP.”
That success, however, is precisely why private equity and sovereign wealth investors came knocking. Roughly $20 billion of the $55 billion price tag is debt-financed, and Wilson warns that such a leveraged structure could impact the price of EA’s video games. “That debt burden will place big pressure on EA’s cash flow instead of reinvesting profits back into R&D or riskier but perhaps innovative ventures,” Wilson told Esports Insider. “There is a genuine concern for consumers and a real danger that cost-cutting becomes inevitable, monetisation strategies may be stretched further, and they will be charged more.”
To put it simply, the new owners will need to squeeze consistent, predictable returns from EA’s biggest cash cows. And for sports gamers, that almost certainly means the EA FC and Madden ecosystems.
EA FC Is Most Likely To Get The Price Hike
Wilson was blunt about where the financial burden may land: “Fans of the EA Sports FC series could be particularly exposed.” He expects deeper monetization and higher base prices to cover debt obligations. “EA Sports FC is quite simply the jewel in the crown and is poised to be a major value driver, with its enormous user base, established brand recognition, and ingrained monetisation, e.g., Ultimate Team, microtransactions,” Wilson said.
That could include more aggressive premium editions, new “live” tiers, or expanded microtransaction models that test how much the player base will tolerate. In Wilson’s view, “every in-game dollar” will face sharper scrutiny. Battle passes, pay-to-play events, and content drops could increase in frequency, with the goal of driving up monetization per user.
While EA FC (and Madden) already relies on Ultimate Team revenue, the pressure from this buyout could mean those mechanics expand even further, or worse, creep into modes that have traditionally steered clear of paywalls. If EA FC 28 or Madden 28 launch at $99.99 with “Standard Plus” and “Pro” tiers stacked above, this deal may be why.
If Professor Wilson’s prediction proves accurate, future EA FC or Madden titles could be the first of EA’s titles to experience the dreaded three-figure price hike upon the completion of the leveraged buyout. And not because of inflation, but rather because of a $55 billion gamble.
For sports gamers, the real season ahead might not be fought on the pitch or the gridiron, but in the checkout cart.
