Remember, in May 2022, we learned that Saudi Arabia, via its public investment fund (PIF), had entered the capital of Nintendo up to 5.01%. An equity investment led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who already bought 96.18% of SNK a year ago, in February 2022. In a report published by Reuters, we learn that the PIF increased its stake in Nintendo’s capital at 6.07%, making the Kingdom one of the main shareholders of the Japanese company. If Nintendo had refused to comment on this small takeover last May, it nevertheless seems to be closely monitoring these actions which could have an impact on the Kyoto firm in the long term. We know this all the more since the countries of the Middle East seem more and more interested in the healthy video game sector, which can help diversify the investments of these countries which live only on oil and real estate today. We recall that Mohammed bin Salman launched the “Saudi Vision 2030” program, whose primary objective is to make Saudi Arabia a country with a better international image.
Among the crown prince’s acquisitions, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive are also in the sights, since in December 2020, the latter had injected more than 3 billion dollars into the capital of the three video game behemoths. The PIF has also invested in Capcom and Nexon, up to 5% in the capital of each, while last September it was clarified that the PIF will launch a new strategy of the Savvy Gaming Group, which will include an investment of 50 billion riyals ($13.3 billion) to acquire “a leading game publisher to become a strategic development partner”. Between China and Saudi Arabia, which are adopting an increasingly offensive takeover strategy, the future of video games will undoubtedly change in the years to come…