The latest investment from Saudi Arabia has been revealed. The Electronic Gaming Development Company has acquired 26,788,500 shares of Capcom, which comes to about 5.03% of the total shares of the company. The EGDC is a subsidiary of the Misk Foundation, which is also known as the Mohammed Bin Salman Foundation, which was founded by the Crown Prince.
Saudi Arabia now owns 10% of Capcom. Back in 2022, The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund bought roughly 5% of shares. The EGDC said that the purchase is “pure investment.” They want to make profit from capital gains and dividends.
This is the latest investment over the past few years that Saudi Arabia has made in the video game industry. Back in 2022, the PIF acquired $1 billion stake in Embracer Group, acquired a stake in Nintendo, becoming their largest outside investor, bought Pokemon GO developer Scopely for $3.5 billion, and most recently, acquired EA for $55 billion, the largest all-cash sponser take private investment in history.
Saudi officials have said that the kingdom’s investments in the video game industry will help modernize the kingdom. However, it has been met with backlash following the country’s reportedly highly crticized human rights abuses.
The crown prince allegedly ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The country also allegedly cracked down on female activists and LBGTQI+ rights, with reprecussions for LBGTQI+ individuals reportedly including imprisonment, fines, or the death penalty.