Saudi Arabia has used its public investment fund to invest more than $ 3.3 billion (that’s $ 3.3 billion for the more visual learners out there) in Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive and Activision Blizzard, Al Jazeera reported (h / t Eurogamer
This move, taken by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (popularly known as MBS), adds up to millions of shares in each company, quite a foothold in the video game industry, but relatively small fractions of ownership.
The crown prince MiSK Foundation, a non-profit foundation intended to “nurture, strengthen and create a healthy environment for young creative talents” in Saudi Arabia, also received a share of a third in Japanese gaming company SNK at the end of last year, with the ultimate goal of eventually gaining majority control over the iconic studio.
While not explicitly part of MBS’s overall Saudi Vision 2030 plan – which on paper is about attracting investors and tourism, but essentially amounts to a propaganda campaign hoping to portray Saudi Arabia as a progressive nation in place of the oppressive medieval monarchy it really is – his recent rapprochement with the video game industry follows the same pattern as the investments his regime has made sport- sport-, and professional wrestling
MBS was hailed as a reformer early in his tenure as crown prince, in part for giving women the right to drive. But its supposed role when ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and Saudi Arabis ongoing genocide of the Yemeni people (with help from the United States and the United Arab Emirates) have made him controversial on the world stage.
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Last summer, Riot was forced to do so withdraw from a partnership with Saudi Arabia, which one League of Legends event promoting the kingdom incredibly stupid NEOM project, after backlash from the esports community.