Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group is aiming to become a major player in the games industry, and will spend nearly $38 billion U.S. dollars to do so, according to the state’s news agency SPA (via Reuters).
The investments will include $18.6 billion to take minority stakes in several ‘key companies’ which support Savvy’s game development agenda and around $13.3 billion to acquire a leading game publisher to “become a strategic development partner”.
There’s also $4.8 billion to be invested into ‘mature industry partners’ who add value and expertise to Savvy’s existing portfolio, and $481 million for esports companies and “industry disruptors to grow early-stage games”.
The aim is to set up as many as 250 game companies in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs the sovereign wealth fund PIF which owns Savvy, says in a statement:
“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. 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.”
Acquisitions already made include the purchase of a 5.01% stake in Nintendo, 5% stakes in Capcom and Nexon, and billions invested in stock of Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Embracer and Take-Two.
Source: VGC
