posted in Technology
EA staff fear new Saudi Arabia owners will police their games: "Projects just won't get signed because they don't align explicitly with what the Saudi government wants"
www.gamesradar.com/games/ea-staff-fear-new-saudi-arabia-owners-will-police-their-games-projects-just-wont-get-signed-because-they-dont-align-explicitly-with-what-the-saudi-government-wants/
I’m going to get downvoted to oblivion, I’m fully aware.
There are many things I don’t know anything about. But I do know a fair bit about this area.
And with great respect to the worriers, this just will not happen.
The investment team that’s bought EA have many other “western” investments they’ve never interfered with, even though they do a great deal of things that the orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia would disagree with. The layers between “what I [claim] to believe” and “make me the most amount of money” are many and includes people from all over the world. If anyone thinks Saudi royalty will sit and make determinations about what games EA will ship they can stop worrying right now. The Saudi monarchy is worrying about two things only: As much money as possible and staying in power.
This is an investments like so many others. It will be ordered to profit-maximise - and if that requires one-upping Doom in gore, and shipping a new edition of Gay Paradise 2000 every 6 months - they will do exactly that.
This is a complete storm in a tea cup.
Replying to @sunbeam60@feddit.uk
The Saudi monarchy hates Islam and is shackled by it. Saudi Arabia had been on a “liberalization” plan under MBS, and it’ll be western soon enough.
They’re following UAE’s doorsteps, and they’re even worse. You can now buy alcohol in public in UAE. You need a license (pay money and don’t be Muslim) or be a tourist, but it’s otherwise unrestricted. You can already wear almost nothing and you can literally be a Zionist who calls Muslims snakes and terrorist and you’ll be welcomed on a red carpet.
Saudi wants that, they just don’t have control tight enough over their population to get away with that yet.
So yes, they will not enforce Sharia on EA games, they’re hoping one day they don’t have to do any "moral’ restrictions on content domestically. As long as it brings in money.
Yeah the Saudi elites are hedonists behind closed doors. The monarchy needs to have the blessing from the clergy to stay in power so they need to be pious in public. Like it’s a open secret that the Saudi elite men fuck western prostitutes on the regular on their yachts in international waters.