The Saudi Arabian government is betting $38 billion on the country’s potential to become the next hub for the video-game industry.
As part of its strategy to diversify its economy away from oil, Saudi Arabia, through its Public Investment Fund, wants to become a big player in the $184 billion global gaming market. After focusing initially on the esports industry, which has been struggling, the fund’s subsidiary, Savvy Gaming Group, is now looking to develop, publish and acquire top-tier games and support a gaming industry in Riyadh.
“We are now more of an esports company than a games company,” Savvy Chief Executive Officer Brian Ward told Bloomberg News in an interview at the Game Developers Conference. “What we’re doing this year is focusing more on game publishing and development.”
Savvy’s plans are ambitious in a crowded market where longstanding players like Electronic Arts Inc. are laying off employees. But the fund has already made multibillion-dollar investments in gaming companies like Nintendo Co., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Activision Blizzard Inc. Ward plans to leverage those connections to build Savvy’s business.
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