Amid EA’s unpopular $55 billion buyout, Baldur’s Gate 3 director takes time “to remind people that making games faster and cheaper while charging more has never worked before”

EA, the publisher behind games like Battlefield 6 and The Sims 4, is on many a player’s mind right now following the $55 billion deal that’s seeing the company go private – and apparently, seemingly on developers’ own, too.

The buyout has left countless communities and devs worried about the future, from The Sims 4 fans’ concerns regarding potential layoffs to analysts’ predictions of EA doubling down on live services and sports at the expense of “new ideas and innovation,” so it’s not surprising to see that Baldur’s Gate 3 director and Larian Studios lead Swen Vincke is sharing his thoughts on points like game development speed as well as pricing now.

In a new online post, Vincke writes, “Probably a good time to remind people that making games faster and cheaper while charging more has never worked before.” Although he doesn’t outwardly state that he’s meaning to respond to the EA deal, the timing here doesn’t exactly feel like a coincidence – and his post edit history shows that he was initially a bit more direct with his words, reminding people “in the games industry” in particular.

Vincke’s original thread also included a now-axed sentence at the end: “Not sure why they think it’ll work now.” Even after his edits, however, it looks like fans are picking up that the RPG director’s thoughts might have been sparked by the EA debacle. “You’re assuming big investor firms that buy game devs (*cough* EA *cough*) care,” comments one user, “even a tiny bit, about whether or not their games are ‘good.'”

The reply continues: “They just care if they make money. If they can do that by cutting staff, rushing the product, and ditching quality, they will in a sec.”

It seems Vincke’s post is stirring discussions about the deal, at least – one that has evidently proven highly controversial among developers and players alike, even with the EA CEO assuring that the buyout marks “a new era of opportunity” and the company’s values “remain unchanged.”

Only time will tell what the $55 billion deal truly means for EA – both its employees and games – and how this will affect the gaming industry as a whole. I, for one, just hope it heeds Vincke’s message, at least.

Larian boss Swen Vincke says “a single engineer” kickstarted Baldur’s Gate 3’s dedicated Steam Deck port, working on it after hours, and ultimately won over the whole studio.