Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has made a $1 billion investment in Embracer Group, a Swedish games and media holding company, according to a report by Saudi Arabia Bloomberg. Embr acer owns Gearbox (Borderlands), Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider), Dark Horse Media (Dark Horse Comics) and the Asmodee Group – the tabletop behemoth recently bought for $3.1 billion. The move is part of a general push by the kingdom to expand its investments in the gaming industry and diversify its income, which mainly comes from fossil fuels.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia is the full owner Savvy Gaming group, the company that made the investment. The move makes the Kingdom the second largest owner of Embracer Group. This is not Saudi Arabia’s first major investment in the gaming and media space. Just last month, it bought 5.01% of Nintendo for an estimated $2.98 billion, becoming the company’s fifth-largest shareholder.
Aggressive investments in the media landscape like this are consistent with the overall goals of the Saudi PIF. The kingdom is trying hard to move the country’s economy away from fossil fuels, which make a difference 70% of its exports at that time. Related sovereign wealth funds have also invested in Uber, Disney, Facebook, and Boeing, among others.
An association with Saudi Arabia is particularly uncomfortable for brands, especially those creating family-friendly content. The country is known for its terrible history human rights
Nevertheless, the US government is sticking to it a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia, including economic and defense partnerships around the world. It is the third most important source of all imported oil in our country.
