By Hamza Faisal

Unity Software, the company behind one of the world's most widely used game engines, has held talks about being acquired by the same investor group that took Electronic Arts private earlier this year, according to a Reuters report.

The consortium — led by private equity firm Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) — discussed a deal valuing Unity at about $25 billion, people familiar with the confidential discussions told Reuters. The talks took place in recent weeks, and no agreement has been reached.

Unity's shares jumped nearly 15% after the report broke, closing at $48.80, as investors bet the engine maker could be the next big gaming takeover.

A familiar set of buyers

Silver Lake and the PIF are no strangers to each other — or to Unity. The two investors were part of the consortium that took EA, the maker of EA Sports FC, private in a $55 billion deal that closed in August 2026. Under that deal, the PIF holds about 93.4% of EA, Silver Lake about 5.5%, and Affinity Partners — the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner — holds the remaining 1.1%.

Silver Lake already owns about 8% of Unity after investing up to $400 million in the company in 2017. Its chief executive, Egon Durban, sits on Unity's board. According to Reuters, it was the PIF that approached both Unity and Silver Lake about making an offer for a full buyout.

A deal far from done

Unity has been working with an investment bank to evaluate its options since the approach, the sources said, but the discussions remain preliminary. The $25 billion figure was discussed before Unity's latest earnings report, which lifted its market value to roughly $21.5 billion — meaning any offer would need to come at a premium to where the stock trades today.

There is no guarantee a deal happens, and the plan and terms could still change, the sources cautioned. Neither Unity nor the investors have publicly confirmed a formal sale process, and any agreement would need approval from Unity's board and shareholders.

The timing is notable: the Reuters report landed on November 5, the same day Unity reported its third-quarter results — its first profit since going public — helped by its AI advertising system Vector, which grew 126%.

Why Unity matters

Unity's engine powers a huge share of the world's mobile and independent games, and its advertising business monetises many of them. A takeover would hand the EA consortium control of the tools behind some of its own biggest customers' games.

The PIF has been steadily expanding its gaming footprint through its Savvy Games Group subsidiary, which already works with Unity under an agreement to support game development in Saudi Arabia. In September, reports emerged that the fund was considering merging EA with Savvy to bring its gaming businesses under one roof.

For now, the market will be watching whether the consortium comes back with a formal offer — or whether Unity decides it is worth more on its own.