EA buys Bullfrog Productions. While the buy-out provides Bullfrog with greater financial security, it also introduces restrictions and bureaucratic issues that Molyneux found increasingly frustrating. He expressed concerns about EA's focus on profits over creativity and innovation.

Molyneux struggled with the creative control EA exerted after the acquisition. He felt that EA's corporate structure stifled the innovative spirit that had defined Bullfrog. He has recounted difficulties in getting new ideas approved and concerns about the direction EA was pushing the studio.

Frustrated with the corporate environment and creative limitations at EA, Molyneux decides to leave Bullfrog and EA. This departure was driven by his desire to regain creative freedom and pursue his own vision.