Electronic Arts made headlines this week when it announced a $55 billion deal to take the company private. Investors including private equity fund Silver Lake, investment firm Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund could radically change what EA will look like in the coming years.
The EA deal is just one part of Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion dollar investments in gaming, esports, and entertainment. In recent months, the Public Investment Fund acquired Pokémon Go maker Niantic through publisher Scopely and its Savvy Games Group, and snapped up the Evolution Championship Series through the Qiddiya Investment Company, which is owned by the PIF. Savvy Games also owns ESL FACEIT Group, which merged two major esports organizers.
Saudi Arabia has invested billions to acquire stakes in companies like Activision Blizzard, Capcom, Embracer Group, Nexon, Nintendo, and Take-Two Interactive in recent years. It also owns fighting game maker SNK, ownership that some fighting game enthusiasts believe influenced the content of the developer’s most recent game, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
Why is Saudi Arabia so invested in gaming? A big part of the answer is economic diversification. But Saudi Arabia is spending big on the gaming industry for other reasons, too.
What is the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund?
The Public Investment Fund is the sovereign wealth fund — a state-owned investment fund — of Saudi Arabia. Created in 1971, the wealth fund is now overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler since 2015. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Saudi Arabia’s PIF oversees an estimated $925 billion in assets.
What is Savvy Games Group?
Savvy Games Group was established in 2021 by the PIF. The group was founded with Saudi Arabia’s “economic diversification and social transformation” in mind, according to CEO Brian Ward. Mohammed (aka MBS), the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and supposedly a “massive gamer,” serves as the PIF’s chairman.
The Savvy Games Group says it is “committed to driving long-term growth and innovation in the games and esports industry through strategic acquisitions, investments, and commercial ventures.” It hopes to achieve “leadership status in the games industry” by 2030, through rapid and aggressive growth.
Why games?
In addition to Mohammed bin Salman’s supposed enthusiasm for gaming, Saudi Arabia is hoping to invest in a growing industry. According to its website, the PIF expects to see gaming industry revenues top $300 billion by 2028.
Saudi Arabia is also hoping that its Qiddiya Esports and Gaming District, part of the Qiddiya entertainment and tourism project in Riyadh, will become a hub for gaming. It aims to “attract 10 million visitors a year to its venues by 2030, and incubate 30 leading video game development companies.” That’s all part of a master plan known as the National Strategy for Gaming and Esports, which aims to incubate 250 companies, create tens of thousands of jobs, and contribute $13.3 billion to the country’s GDP, according to the PIF.
But gaming is just one component of the PIF’s investment strategy, which aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy into new areas, including tourism, entertainment, and technology. The country’s economy is highly reliant on the petroleum industry, which accounts for approximately 40% of GDP. The kingdom is planning for a post-peak-oil world.
However, the group’s investments in game publishers, developers, and esports organizations have been controversial, leading to accusations similar to the PIF “sportswashing” — investments in sporting events like the World Cup and the establishment of LIV Golf to improve Saudi Arabia’s global reputation. The country’s record of human rights abuses and Mohammed bin Salman’s alleged ordering of the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi have long tarnished public perception of the kingdom. Whether gaming could ever buff the kingdom’s reputation remains unclear, but the potential economic gains may be a higher priority.