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It is easy for people to forget that not everyone is familiar with the Saudi Arabian government’s heavy investment in the video game industry. However, its decision to purchase EA, along with other investors that include US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, isn’t shocking to anyone who has been following the nation’s efforts to purchase all or part of some of the biggest game companies in the world.

In early 2021, the Saudi Arabian government created Savvy Games Group, an investment company that uses money from its Public Investment Fund (PIF) to purchase shares in video game companies. The intention is generally seen as two-fold: to increase the wealth and improve the public image of the Saudi Arabian government.

Like many investment portfolios of this size, the actual shares that Savvy Games Group owns change constantly. Primarily, it consists of game developers and publishers, but there has been a concerted effort by Savvy and the Saudi Arabian government to create a large stake in the lucrative and influential eSports industry.

Which game companies does the Saudi Arabian government own? Here are the biggest purchases we’ve seen from them so far:

• February 2021 - $1 billion in Electronic Arts, $1.4 billion in Activision Blizzard, and 6.5% of Take-Two Interactive
• January 2022 - $1.5 billion purchase of eSports organisation ESL Facelt
• February 2022 – Purchased 5% stake in Nexon and 5% stake in Capcom
• May 2022 – Upped stake in SNK to 96%. Purchased 5% stake in Nintendo.
• February 2023 – Invested $235 million in eSports company VSPO
• July 2023 – $4.9 billion purchase of Scopely
• Summer 2024 – The Saudi-funded eSports World Cup started. Stake in Nintendo grows to 7.54%
• May 2025 – Scopely purchased Niantic, the makers of Pokémon Go
• October 2025 – Announced intention to purchase EA outright as part of a consortium of investors

For those keeping track, this means that Saudi Arabia, through the PIF and Savvy Games Group, owns part or all of SNK, EA, Take-Two, Nintendo, Niantic, Scopely, Capcom, and Activision Blizzard, and these are just the large companies that they’ve invested enough money into to make headlines. It is likely that they own far more than this. Most of these are publicly traded companies, which means that Savvy Games Group can purchase shares on the stock market just like anyone else.

If the purchase of Electronic Arts goes through in 2026, it will be the largest game company that Saudi Arabia owns. However, it is unlikely to be the last; if the last few years have shown us anything, it is that the Saudi Arabian government sees big money and influence in video games.

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