Saudi wealth fund considering increased stakes in Japanese game devs

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) may be looking to up its already-established stake in Japanese studios like Nintendo and Koei Tecmo, and begin new investments into others in the region.

Per Kyodo News, the fund's vice chairman Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud recently acknowledged the "possibility" of these backings, but only with the permission of its business partners.

"It's important to keep the communication going so you get there in the right way," he said. "We don't want to rush anything."

To date, the PIF has a nearly 8.6 percent investment in Nintendo (after an inital 5 percent in 2022), and nearly 9 percent for Koei Tecmo. Other studios it has invested in include Capcom, Nexon, EA, and Take-Two.

The PIF's expanded investments cover a number of non-oil industries. Its focus on entertainment businesses is reportedly central to the goals of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was previously linked to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also undergone multiple reforms driven by the Crown Prince, including loosening restrictions on how women may participate in society. But critics allege those reforms have gone hand in hand with the continued abuse of dissenters.

This year, PIF helped fund a video game-focused vertical for Rolling Stone. Savvy Games Group, a sizable subsidiary of the fund, partnered with game commerce website Xsolla to create a game developer academy in Saudi Arabia.

Savvy also acquired mobile game developer Scopely (of Monopoly Go! fame) last year, and is being used to grow Saudi Arabia into a larger hub for game development by 2030.