Analyst who worked at EA for nine years doesn't believe in a new Mass Effect release after the deal with Saudi Arabia

This month, EA came under the control of a consortium made up of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, along with investment firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. Employees at the publisher are already bracing for the worst, and the deal itself saddled EA with $20 billion in debt.

Nobody yet knows how the new owners plan to run things or whether that debt will change EA's approach to business. Emmanuel Rosier weighed in on the situation, director of market intelligence at industry analysts Newzoo, who spent nine years as a senior manager at EA.

I think everything is open at this point. I suspect that sports will remain the key focus for EA, particularly European football, soccer, because of the importance of that sport in Saudi and in Middle East territories. You see a lot of synergies in that context. You can also expect that they will push even more for esports, also given the popularity of esports in Saudi and in some other territories. The question mark is probably the second-tier or third-tier IP in the portfolio of EA.

EA has spent years piling up franchises in its portfolio that barely get any attention from the publisher. Rosier points to brands like Ultima and Wing Commander, which haven't seen new development in years, even as the value of that intellectual property keeps climbing.

They have a lot of dormant IPs that have not been used for so many years. You know, they have IPs like Ultima, they have IPs like Wing Commander and this and that, and it's not being used at all. So the question is, would some of them be maybe sold, or will they hire studios to leverage these IPs? Because we see every day the importance of IPs.

I think there are plenty of IPs like that at EA that nobody cares about at this moment. I think probably they will leverage that either by just selling it or trying to find external studios that can work on that. Maybe mobile games.

Beyond its big-budget live-service games and long-forgotten brands, EA's portfolio still includes studios like BioWare, whose fate worries Rosier the most. That's the developer behind franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

Then in the middle you have these IPs like the BioWare IPs. They've been struggling as a studio, as a brand have been struggling in recent years, and I don't know if they will keep funding that one. I think that's the biggest question mark for me.

Dragon Age has always been a swingy series, defined by constant reinvention and ups and downs. Mass Effect had a golden age that lasted for two-and-a-half games, a foundation that could still support the franchise going forward. Asked whether he'd believe a new Mass Effect entry is actually on the way, Rosier doesn't hold back.

I will believe it when I see it, the next Mass Effect game, let's put it that way.

I've worked many years with BioWare, sometimes it can stretch for years and years until something comes. I think everything can happen at this moment. They can pull the plug very, very easily. And if the new investor, they don't have that many feelings about the history of the portfolio, they will take the most financially sound decision most probably.

BioWare has stayed quiet about the development of the next Mass Effect, saying only that the studio has had its head down working hard on the project.