Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund acquires stakes in Capcom and Nexon
Marie Dealessandri
Features Editor
Friday 11th February 2022
Capcom
Nexon
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has acquired minor stakes in Capcom and Nexon.
According to Bloomberg, the fund took a stake of more than 5% in each publisher, with a combined value of over $1 billion.
The PIF is a $500 billion fund which also has shares in Activision Blizzard, EA and Take-Two, having invested over $3 billion in the three publishers in Q4 2021.
Saudi Arabia seems to be doubling down on games investment lately, with Savvy Gaming Group (which is owned by the PIF) acquiring esports company ESL Gaming and competitive multiplayer technology platform FaceIt earlier this year.
Just yesterday, Saudi Arabia's Neom -- a smart mega-city project unveiled in 2017 -- announced a joint venture with media firm MBC Group to create "the first AAA games development studio in the region."
In 2020, Riot Games cancelled its sponsorship partnership with Neom following backlash from fans and participating players in the League of Legends European Championship, of which Neom was the main partner.
The project has been controversial since its unveiling due to Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record, with allegations that Saudi authorities are forcibly removing and reportedly killing Huwaiti tribe members to clear the way for the city's construction.
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