A small group of protesters opposed to the Saudi Arabia-led takeover of Electronic Arts staged a "raid"—in the metaphorical MMO sense of players teaming up to confront a powerful boss—at EA headquarters yesterday, demonstrating in front of the Madden field at the center of the company's campus before attempting to present a petition signed by more than 70,000 people to EA leadership. Unfortunately, the delivery failed: While the protest went off with only one minor hitch, the attempt to serve EA the petition directly was stymied by security guards.
The "hitch" in question was EA's decision to place barricades around Madden field ahead of the protest, along with a small sign saying the field was closed for a "private function." Players Alliance, the group responsible for the protest, said it had not been in contact with EA over the matter, but that it believed the barricades were erected specifically to keep protesters off the field.
