The investment is a part of the kingdom's effort to become "the ultimate global hub for the games and esports sector by 2030."
Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman
Saudi Arabia's gaming conglomerate The Savvy Gaming Group, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) chaired by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is set to invest SAR 142 billion ($37.8 billion) in the gaming industry as an effort to expand the kingdom's role in the sector.
As reported by the kingdom's press agency, the investment also includes SAR 50 billion ($13.3 billion) earmarked for "the acquisition and development of a leading game publisher to become a strategic development partner." It is not clear yet which company The Savvy Gaming Group refers to here.
"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," crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said. "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."
This is not the first investment Saudi Arabia made in the gaming industry. In June, it purchased a $1 billion stake in the Swedish video game and media holding Embracer Group, and prior to that, it also acquired a 5.01% stake in Nintendo as well as invested several billion dollars in Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two.
Don't forget to join our Reddit page and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.