Saudi Arabia to invest $37.8 bn in gaming companies

Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, which is completely owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced that it will make an investment of SAR 142 billion ($37.8 billion) into the games business.

The group will invest SAR 50 billion ($13.3 billion) to acquire a ‘’leading game publisher’’ of which the name hasn’t been revealed yet, and SAR 70 billion ($18.6 billion) to acquire minority stakes in key gaming companies.

In addition, SAR 2 billion ($532 million) will be invested in industry disruptors and SAR 20 billion ($5.3 billion) in Savvy’s ‘’mature’’ industry partners.

Furthermore, Savvy plans to build 250 gaming firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the goal of generating 39,000 employment and bringing GDP contribution to SAR 50 billion ($13.3 billion), by the year 2030.

“Savvy Games Group is one part of our ambitious strategy aiming to make Saudi Arabia the ultimate global hub for the games and esports sector by 2030”, said Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as the Chairman of Board of Savvy Games Group. 

“We are harnessing the untapped potential across the esports and games sector to diversify our economy, drive innovation in the sector and further scale the entertainment and esports competition offerings across the Kingdom.”

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has made major investments in top gaming firms, particularly in recent years. In 2020, the fund acquired over $3.3 billion worth of stock in Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive and Activision Blizzard.

This year, it acquired $1 billion stake in Embracer Group, $1 billion in Capcom and Nexon, 96% stake in SNK, and 5% stake in Nintendo Co for reportedly $2.8 billion.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia also became the first country to approve Microsoft’s $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition, which the UK watchdog said could harm competition.