Saudi Arabia reduces stake in Nintendo

Key insights

Saudi Arabia's PIF reduced its stake in Nintendo from 7.5% to 6.3%.
The country had considered increasing its stake in Nintendo, but now appears to be focusing on local investment.
The sales may not indicate a change in Saudi Arabia's gaming commitment as the country plans to host the first Olympic eSports Games in 2025.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has reduced its holdings Nintendo Once again. The Saudi Arabian PIF has been investing in the gaming industry for years. Over time, the company has acquired large stakes in gaming giants such as Nintendo, Activision, Capcom and Embracer. The country's continued interest in gaming has even led it to host the first Olympic eSports Games in 2025.

The PIF first began investing in Nintendo in May 2022. At that time, he bought 5.01% of the Japanese gaming titan's available shares. Saudi Arabia, through its Savvy Games Group division, then became Nintendo's largest shareholder in 2023 when it increased its stake to 8.26%. The country's continued acquisitions were all aimed at making Saudi Arabia a “global hub” for both gaming and eSports.

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As Bloomberg (via The Edge) reports, Saudi Arabia is once again reducing its stake in the Japan-based gaming company. This all comes shortly after Savvy Games Group made over $100 million selling Nintendo shares in October 2024. Based on a filing with Japan's Ministry of Finance, the Public Investment Fund reduced its stake in Nintendo from 7.5% to 6.3%. Such a sale is likely to bring in even more money for the PIF, but it remains to be seen whether these types of sales will become a trend by 2025.

Saudi Arabia had previously considered buying more Nintendo shares

The ongoing sell-off in Nintendo shares came as a bit of a surprise. In an interview at the Tokyo Game Show 2024, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud, deputy chairman of Savvy Games Group, expressed interest in further investing in Nintendo. The continued sales of the gaming company's shares appear to indicate that the PIF is shifting its focus to local investments to help the domestic economy. However, there is nothing stopping Saudi Arabia from reinvesting in Nintendo in the future, especially with the inevitable release of the Switch 2 on the horizon.

It's important to note that Saudi Arabia's sudden move to sell Nintendo shares doesn't necessarily mean its commitment to gaming is changing. At the time of writing, the country is still aiming to host the first Olympic eSports Games in 2025. The PIF's overall presence in the gaming space has not diminished and is still a major shareholder in Nintendo. Time will tell whether these sales indicate a change in Savvy Games Group's overall strategy or are simply an isolated event designed to bring profits to Saudi Arabia.