Quoted from Nikkei AsiaMonday (2/9), a representative of Saudi Arabian gaming company, Savvy Games Group, said the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund will take the first step in this direction as early as next year by transferring all gaming-related shares to Savvy’s subsidiary.
The move reflects a broader strategy to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and into entertainment and IP, with the kingdom planning significant investments in gaming, esports and IP.
Saudi Arabia has already moved in this direction. On August 25, the country concluded its eight-week Esports World Cup.
Hosted in the Saudi capital Riyadh, the competition attracted 500 teams from around the world, boasted major sponsors including Sony Group, and promised a record prize pool of around $62 million. Popular fighting series “Street Fighter” and “Tekken” were among the games featured in the tournament.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a known fan of video games and anime, is spearheading the kingdom’s gaming initiative. Before postponing his trip to Japan, he had intended to visit Japanese gaming and entertainment companies, sources said.
The new direction of the Public Investment Fund reflects the crown prince’s enthusiasm.
The fund currently owns 8.58 percent of Nintendo, 6.6 percent of video game developer Capcom and 5.37 percent of film and anime studio Toei. It also holds stakes in U.S. and South Korean gaming companies and is believed to have undisclosed stakes in other entertainment stocks.
While many Japanese gaming companies say there have been no “concrete discussions” regarding collaboration with Saudi entities, some executives are beginning to voice strategic visions.
They say that using Saudi Arabia as a gateway for Middle Eastern expansion is possible.
“The kingdom’s incentive policies aimed at luring development studios could have a positive impact on their business decisions,” they added.
In recent years, Savvy has been actively acquiring esports and gaming companies.
SMBC Nikko Securities senior analyst Eiji Maeda noted that game development costs are soaring, and in the long term, Saudi Arabia could become a source of funding.
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“Despite concerns about Japanese companies taking over, market sentiment is largely that “given Saudi Arabia’s cooperative attitude so far, an aggressive takeover seems unlikely,” Maeda said. 
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