Saudi Arabia wants to increase its investments in Nintendo

Key insights

Saudi Arabia aims to become a gaming hub by 2030 and is investing heavily in the industry.
The country is Nintendo's largest shareholder and also holds shares in other gaming giants.
Although Saudi Arabia has no plans to influence game development, some titles have been censored before release in the country.

The Prince of Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in continuing the country's relations with Saudi Arabia Nintendo. The gaming market is largely based in the United States of America and Japan, with Nintendo dominating much of this market, but other countries have also shown initiative to become more involved in the industry, which could ultimately lead to gaming becoming more popular reaches unexpected places. It's unclear whether this connection will influence game content in the future, but that seems unlikely.

Saudi Arabia has made progress in the entertainment business. In order to diversify the country's economy, Savvy Games Group, a country-funded company operating in several areas of the gaming industry, including eSports and publishing, has taken steps to expand this reach. Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars in gambling, and it doesn't appear that this will slow down any time soon. Savvy Games Group has announced plans to continue to allocate core parts of the gaming market, with the aim of making Saudi Arabia a gaming hub by 2030.

Saudi Arabia becomes Nintendo's largest investor

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

Kyodo News interviewed Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud during the Tokyo Game Show 2024 and he signaled further interest in investing in Japanese gaming. As the country moves away from an oil-dependent economy, its sovereign wealth group has increased its investments in games, with its public investment fund claiming nearly a tenth of Nintendo's shares. Asked about the prospect of going further, the prince said: “That's always a possibility” and pointed out that any step he and the country take to increase stakes in Nintendo will be in agreement will be made to the company, thereby maintaining positive communication. Following news of Saudi Arabia's continued interest in the relationship, Nintendo shares surged, rising nearly 4%.

Saudi Arabia is ready to invest more in Nintendo

Saudi Arabia is currently Nintendo's largest shareholder, and that influence extends elsewhere as well. Although not the largest investor for some, the country owns significant stakes in other gaming giants, holding about 10% of Nexon, 5% of Capcom and 9% of EA. It doesn't appear that Saudi Arabia has any plans to directly influence video game development. However, outside of these investments, various elements of some titles such as: Spider Man 2 were censored in the country before their release.

Restrictions like these could attract more attention as gambling is more closely linked to Saudi Arabia. The country plans to host the first Olympic esports games in 2025, which is likely to further underline the growing relationship between the country and the multinational gaming market. 2025 could be a crucial year for Saudi Arabia and gaming, as alongside this competition the Switch successor is also on the horizon.