Saudi Arabia wants to increase its investment in Nintendo

Important takeaways

Saudi Arabia is aiming to become a gaming hub by 2030, with heavy investment in the industry.
The country is Nintendo's largest shareholder and also has stakes in other gaming giants.
Although Saudi Arabia has no plans to influence game development, some titles have been censored before being released in the country.

The prince of Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in continuing the country's relationship with Nintendo. The gaming market is largely based in the United States and Japan, where Nintendo dominates much of that space, but other countries have shown initiative to become more involved in the industry, which could end up bringing games to potentially unexpected places. It is unclear if this relationship will affect the content of games in the future, but it seems unlikely.

Saudi Arabia has made progress in the entertainment industry. To diversify the country's economy, Savvy Games Group, a company funded by the country involved in several parts of the gaming industry, including e-sports and publishing, has made strides to expand this reach. Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars in gaming, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The Savvy Games group has stated plans to continue to allocate key parts of the gaming market, with the intention of making Saudi Arabia a hub for gaming by 2030.

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Saudi Arabia becomes Nintendo's biggest investor

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund increases its stake in Nintendo, becoming the largest outside investor in the company.

Kyodo News interviewed Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud during Tokyo Game Show 2024, and he signaled further interest in investing in Japanese gaming. As the country transitions from an oil-dependent economy, its sovereign wealth fund group has increased its investment in games, with its public investment fund claiming almost a tenth of Nintendo's stake. When asked about the possibility of going further, the prince said “It's always a possibility”, noting that any step he and the country take to raise the stakes in Nintendo will be done in agreement with the company, maintaining positive communication. Following the news of Saudi Arabia's continued interest in this relationship, Nintendo's stock soared, with shares up nearly 4%.

Saudi Arabia is open to investing more in Nintendo

Saudi Arabia is Nintendo's biggest shareholder at the moment, and that grip extends elsewhere. While not the biggest investor for some, the country owns significant stakes in other gaming giants, with around 10% of Nexon, 5% of Capcom and 9% of EA. It does not appear that Saudi Arabia has any plans to directly influence the development of video games. But outside of these investments, different parts of some titles like Spider-Man 2 were censored before being released in the country.

More attention may be drawn to restrictions like these as gambling is further linked to Saudi Arabia. The country has plans to host the inaugural Olympic eSports Games in 2025, which is likely to further highlight the growing relationship between the country and the multinational gaming market. 2025 could be a defining year for Saudi Arabia and gaming, with the Switch successor on the horizon in addition to this competition.