The Man Who Assembled Western Gaming's Biggest Owner Just Left
Brian Ward stepped down as CEO of Savvy Games Group on September 1, 2026, twelve days after Savvy's $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts closed. Turqi Alnowaiser, deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, took over as interim CEO. Savvy has not named a timeline for a permanent replacement. Ward had led Savvy since November 2021, and the internal memo announcing his exit cited the company entering its next period of transformational growth, without further detail.
Five Years, $37.8 Billion, One Ownership Bloc
Ward's departure caps a run of acquisitions that makes Savvy the largest single shareholder bloc in Western gaming.
| Target | Deal | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scopely | Acquisition | $4.9 billion | 2023 |
| Niantic (games business) | Acquisition | $3.5 billion | 2025 |
| Electronic Arts | Take-private buyout | $55 billion | 2026 |
| Embracer, Take-Two, Nintendo | Minority stakes | Undisclosed | 2022 to 2026 |
A Governance Question for Everyone Who Signed With Savvy
Ward's exit is a continuity risk for every counterparty now inside the portfolio he built, not just for Savvy itself. EA's own leadership, Scopely's and Niantic's management, and any developer or vendor with Embracer, Take-Two or Nintendo as a partner now sit one layer beneath a holding company that just lost the person who set its strategy and negotiated its biggest deals. Interim leadership from inside PIF signals continuity of ownership, not continuity of the specific relationships and commitments Ward made studio by studio. Anyone with a live agreement tied to Savvy's plans, roadmap commitments, board seats, co-investment terms, has reason to get those confirmed directly with the new leadership rather than assume they carry over.
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