Saudi Arabia wants to buy a major publisher

Saudi Arabia continues to invest in the video game industry to make its economy less dependent on oil. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced his intention to invest $37.8 billion to the video game industry. Of this, $13.3 billion is earmarked for the purchase and development of a major game publisher, which will become a strategic development partner.

Another $18.6 billion will be used to buy minority stakes in several key companies, including development studios. $481 million is earmarked for esports-related business and $4.8 billion is for investment in experienced industry partners who will bring value and expertise to the portfolio. Savvy Games Group.

It is through the Savvy Games Group that all investments and purchases will go. Analysts wonder what the leading publisher might be. They exclude Ubisoft, which received money from the Chinese Tencent, which should strengthen its “independence”. Ubisoft is valued at $5.3 billion. Electronic Arts, which Amazon should have looked at, has a much higher value.

For comparison: Sony bought Bungie for $3.6 billion, Microsoft bought Bethesda Softworks for $7.5 billion, Embracer Group expanded to include Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal and Square Enix Montréal (with brands such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief or Legacy of Kain) for $300 million. and Take-Two bought Zynga for $12.7 billion. At the very top is the $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft will pay after the deal is approved.

So who could the crown prince buy? Square Enix, Capcom, Konami or Koei Tecmo are considered.

“Savvy Games Group is part of our ambitious strategy to make Saudi Arabia a global powerhouse for the gaming and esports sectors by 2030.” bin Salman said in a press release.

Savvy Games Group expects this strategy to lead creation of 250 gambling companies in Saudi Arabiawhich will create 39,000 jobs and increase the sector’s contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP to $13.3 billion by 2030. This is an investment in the acquisition of one company.

Saudi Arabia recently invested $1 billion in Embracer Group, acquiring a 5.01% stake in Nintendo, and billions of dollars were used to buy shares in EA, Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive.

Critics call Savvy Games Group’s future acquisitions a project improving the image of Saudi Arabia, which Savvy CEO Brian Ward denied. Saudi Arabia violates human rights (women have fewer rights than men, the death penalty, the criminalization of homosexuality), supports the war in Yemen, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was accused by US intelligence agencies of the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had long supported the policies of the crown prince. Prince, criticized.