EA $55B Takeover, ROG Ally Xbox X Rumors & The State of Gaming — Podcast Recap
This week: Electronic Arts agreed to be acquired and taken private in a $55 billion deal led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. The move will reshape the industry and raise questions about influence, strategy and what it means for gamers.
Key topics
- EA to go private — $55B: Deal announced by EA; major implications for publishing, studios and investor strategy. Source: EA press release.
- ROG Ally Xbox X rumors — $1,000 price tag: Reports claim a high-end ROG Ally variant with Xbox integration could cost around $1,000. Treat as unconfirmed rumor — no official launch details yet.
- Xbox state & hardware: Conversation covers Xbox’s strategy, cloud gaming, and hardware experiments that may or may not connect with partnerships like the rumored ROG Ally.
- Other topics from the podcast: Great games out now (Final Fantasy Tactics, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades II), Amazon hardware announcements, Google/Nest updates, AI actor controversy, and OpenAI’s Sora video app issues.
Links & sources
- EA press release: EA Announces Agreement to be Acquired
- Podcast coverage (Engadget episode recap): Engadget podcast recap (originally linked via RSS; link here removes RSS parameter)
- ROG Ally on Amazon (search): Find ROG Ally on Amazon (affiliate)
Notes
Rumors about device pricing and branding should be taken cautiously until official announcements. The EA deal press release is the primary source for the acquisition news.
Podcast timestamps (recap)
- EA acquisition discussion — 1:43
- ROG Ally / Xbox state conversation — 15:23
- Game highlights — 42:46
- Amazon hardware — 59:10
- Google Nest updates — 1:09:34
- AI actress controversy & OpenAI Sora — 1:14:30 / 1:14:13
- Closing items & picks — 1:17:35 / 1:19:01
Credits
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam Rutherford
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien
Originally appeared on Engadget.