Saudi Arabia Invests More Than $1 Billion In Capcom And Nexon
Saudi Arabia is looking to be a big player in the gaming market. Using its Public Investment Fund, the Saudi government has purchased big stakes in EA, Take-Two Interactive, and Activision Blizzard, and now it's purchased a big piece of Resident Evil and Monster Hunter developer Capcom and South Korean mobile developer Nexon.
Bloomberg News reports that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which is a sovereign wealth fund used to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy beyond oil and gas, has purchased more than a 5% stake in both Capcom and Nexon. The specific dollar amount was not disclosed but combined it's said to total over $1 billion USD.
Related: The Capcom Pro Tour 2021 Has Revived My Love For Street Fighter
This isn’t the first time the Saudi PIF has made big purchases in gaming. Most recently, the PIF outright purchased both ESL And FACEIT, two of the largest esports leagues in the world, for a combined price of $1.5 billion. The purchase was made through Savvy, a PIF subsidiary, with ESL and FACEIT being merged into a single organization, ESL FACEIT Group.
In early 2021, Saudi Arabia’s PIF spent over $3 billion USD to purchase stakes in Activision Blizzard and EA and to increase its stake in Take-Two Interactive. In 2020, Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman's Electronic Games Development Company purchased a controlling stake in fighting game developer SNK.
One of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, the Public Investment Fund's stated goal is "to create new sectors, companies, and jobs" in Saudi Arabia in pursuit of the country's "Vision 2030 objectives. This includes creating a more diverse economy that's less reliant on oil revenues.
However, these investments in video game companies aren’t without
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