SNK lead insists Saudi Arabia sale ‘will have no effect on the games we make’
One of SNK’s most senior developers has addressed concern from some fans over the company’s majority sale to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and insisted it will not affect the content it puts into its games.
PIF, which is a sovereign wealth fund chaired by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, has invested in numerous game developers in recent years.
That includes this year’s purchase of a 5.01% stake in Nintendo (which Nintendo subsequently claimed it first learned about from news reports), 5% stakes in Capcom and Nexon, and billions invested in stock for Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Embracer and Take-Two.
Acclaimed Japanese fighting game studio SNK is unique in that it was nearly totally acquired by the prince’s fund earlier this year, including the ownership of the Fatal Fury, Metal Slug and King of Fighters IPs.
Saudi Arabia officials have said the investments will help modernize the kingdom, but they have come with negative fallout due to the country’s highly criticised human rights abuses.
Notably, the crown prince has been accused by US Intelligence of ordering the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The country is also engaged in a controversial war in Yemen, and has historically cracked down on female activists and homosexuality.
The head of Saudi Arabia’s gaming investment arm has dismissed such concerns as “older impressions” of the country.
Regardless, its 96% investment in SNK has led to concern from many fans who do not want to support companies owned by the government, and those worried that future SNK games could see content restricted – particularly related to LGBT issues and women.
“For us, we’re just focussing on making games. We’re not a political company or anything like that, so it
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