The word is out in the Wall Street Journal that videogame publishing giant Electronic Arts is exploring to sell as the company faces struggles in the online and offline markets.

The company's stock has faced a strong downturn over the past year with the underwhelming sales and overwhelming failure of Star Wars: The Old Republic and other setbacks, which have not only hurt the company's reputation as a world class publisher, but have lost the love of fans of the Star Wars offshoot.

WSJ reports that EA has been approached by a couple of private-equity companies KKR and Providence Equity Partners about a potential sale of the company. The paper also reports that in light of the news, company stocks rose by 17% to $15.25 but are down by an overall 36% this year.

Whether there is any veracity to the claims remains to be seen. It's amusing to note that it was only a few years ago that EA itself had announced plans to purchase the then-flagging Take Two Interactive, which has since rebounded thanks to the popularity of the Grand Theft Auto series and other Rockstar titles.