Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is considering raising its stakes in Nintendo. The Public Investmenf Fund (PIF) is trying to diversify the country’s economy and make it less oil-dependent, which is why Saudi Arabia has invested hundres of millions in entertainment ventures like videogames, eSports, film or sports, including a F1 track around one of the world’s largest theme parks.
It is through its gaming company, Savvy Games Group, that Saudi Arabia has already invested in many Japanese and western videogame companies, including Activision Blizzard, Embracer Group and Take-Two.
Saudi Arabia already owns 8.58% of Nintendo’s stakes. But, as pointed by VGC, Nintendo wasn’t aware of the initial PIF stake in the company and found out from the news.
This wouldn’t happen again, as Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud, Savvy Games Group’s vice chair, said in a recent interview with Kyodo News at Tokyo Game Show. “It’s important to keep the communication going so you get there in the right way,” he said. “We don’t want to rush into anything.”
Saudi Arabia’s first acquisition in Nintendo happened in 2022, when they bought 5.01% of the company. Two years later, the country ruled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has already raised its stakes in Nintendo to over 8.5%, making many Nintendo and human rights fans uncomfortable due to the country’s frequent executions and criminalization of homosexuality.