Electronic Arts, the company behind skate., is officially a privately owned company after a Saudi led investment group completed a $55 billion buyout.
the group includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, making this one of the biggest deals the gaming industry has ever seen.
The acquisition is now the largest leveraged buyout in history and the second largest gaming acquisition ever completed.
Only Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard was larger. Even with the new ownership in place, EA CEO Andrew Wilson will continue leading the company.
For skateboarders, the biggest question is what this could mean for skate.
EA has spent the last few years developing the next entry in the series, with the game being built as a free to play experience that will continue receiving updates after launch.
The project has already attracted plenty of attention from longtime fans who have been waiting more than a decade for a new Skate title.
At the moment, there has been no announcement that the ownership change will affect skate.'s development.
EA has not shared any plans to change its release strategy or the team working on the game.
That means development is expected to continue under the same leadership as before.
The buyout does give EA access to a different ownership structure, which could influence long term business decisions across its studios.
Since EA publishes some of the biggest franchises in gaming, including skate., EA Sports FC, The Sims, and Battlefield, many players will be watching to see how the company develops over the next several years.
Skaters and gamers do not have any reason to expect immediate changes.
The focus remains on delivering the next chapter in the series while EA begins its future as a privately owned company under its new Saudi led ownership group.