Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have reportedly approached Unity Software about a takeover, only months after the same pair closed their $55bn purchase of Electronic Arts. PC Gamer relays the Reuters report, which says the consortium has set its sights on the company behind the Unity game engine. Investing.com reports that Reuters cited two people familiar with the confidential discussions, and that the approach came in recent weeks.
What Reuters says about the talks
The investor group discussed a valuation of about $25 billion before Unity’s latest earnings report lifted its market capitalisation to roughly $21.5 billion. Unity has engaged an investment bank to evaluate its options following the approach. Reuters says the discussions remain preliminary, with no certainty that a transaction will materialise and terms still subject to change. The market has already reacted: Unity shares jumped 6.6% to $52.04 in extended trading after surging nearly 15% in the regular session.
Silver Lake isn’t a stranger to the company. PC Gamer notes that it has held roughly 8% of Unity since investing around $400 million in 2017, and that Silver Lake’s Egon Durban sits on Unity’s board. Reuters describes that as a dual role that would typically lead him to recuse himself from board deliberations on a sale. Durban is also CEO and managing partner of Silver Lake, and he was quoted in EA’s announcement that the consortium’s acquisition had closed on 4 August 2026.
Why Unity looks attractive now
The timing follows a strong quarter. As Reuters reports in the piece PC Gamer quotes, growth in Unity’s AI-powered Vector advertising platform helped it post its first quarterly profit on a GAAP basis since going public in September 2020. That shifts the picture of a company whose reputation took a battering over its Runtime Fee, a pricing scheme PC Gamer calls a scandal. It also explains why a $25bn figure discussed before earnings now sits well above the roughly $21.5bn market value.
For developers, nothing changes today. No deal has been announced, and Unity’s licensing and tools stay as they are. If talks progress, the questions to watch are who controls pricing and how the board handles Durban’s conflict. PC Gamer’s own take is blunt: it sees the industry heading towards a handful of consortiums owning most of it.
The Saudi angle
A Unity deal would give PIF a second major gaming asset in quick succession. The fund’s EA purchase was a take-private worth $55bn, and we covered the regulatory path in our report on the EU’s expected sign-off. Unity would be a different kind of bet. It sits underneath thousands of games rather than owning a stable of franchises, which would give the consortium a stake in the tools as well as the titles. A secondary summary of the Reuters report says neither PIF nor Silver Lake had responded to requests for comment, so we don’t yet have a statement from either side.
Has Unity agreed to be sold?
No. Reuters describes the discussions as preliminary, and Unity has only engaged an investment bank to weigh its options. Terms could still change, and there’s no certainty a deal will happen.
Does the EA deal mean Saudi Arabia already owns Unity?
No. EA announced on 4 August 2026 that its acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners had closed, but Unity is a separate listed company. Silver Lake holds roughly 8% of it, and PIF has no reported stake.
Will this affect games made in Unity?
Not now. No takeover has been announced, so the engine, its pricing and its licensing terms are unchanged. We recommend watching for an official announcement from Unity before making any decisions about your tooling.
