By: Odile Williams

Oil Money Seeping Into Esports: How Saudi Arabia Acquiring EA Affects the Gaming Industry

EA made shockwaves around the gaming industry this past month when they announced a 55 billion dollar deal to take EA private and sell to none other than the Saudi Arabian PIF AKA the Public Investment Funds. 

This isn’t even the first investment move Saudi Arabia has made in the past year within gaming, as the PIF acquired Niantic, the publishing company of Pokemon Go in March. These moves into gaming by Saudi Arabia are not unprecedented, as they have slowly been buying out big names in the gaming industry. 

What Game Companies Does PIF Own?

The Public Investment Fund has built up a large and growing portfolio in the video game and entertainment industry. The fund is part of Saudi Arabia’s long-term plan to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil revenue. As part of this effort, the PIF has invested billions of dollars in some of the world’s most well-known video game companies, publishers, and developers. These investments are meant not only to generate profit but also to position Saudi Arabia as a global player in digital entertainment and technology. Here are a few of their highest hitting gaming companies they have ownership in:

EA: The newest of the PIF acquisition and the biggest publisher titles yet that Saudi Arabia owns. This $55 billion dollar deal has raised questions about the conglomerate that is forming within the gaming industry, and all fingers point to Saudi Arabia. 

Nintendo: Saudi Arabia owns 5% of Nintendo’s shares. Nintendo’s total market value is around $100 billion dollars (this number changes with the stock market). If you calculate 5 percent of that total value, it comes out to roughly 5 billion dollars. In other words, Saudi Arabia’s investment in Nintendo equals billions of dollars’ worth of ownership.

Take Two: Take Two is the parent company of AAA (highly popular) game companies such as 2K, Rockstar (GTA) and Zynga. Since 2021, PIF has held around 3.5% of Take Two, coming out to a rough value of $2.9 billion dollars. 

Activision Blizzard: in 2021, PIF acquired 14 million shares of Activision Blizzard or about 2% of the company, for $1.4 billion. 

Capcom: In 2022 PIF bought a 5% stake in Capcom’s company, home to popular games Monster Hunter and the Resident Evil games. 

Nexon: Also in 2022, the PIF bought another 5% stake in Nexon, a company based in South Korea. 

Esports World Cup: Saudi Arabia funded the Esports World Cup, an annual tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with $62 million awarded across multiple individual titles. 

What Does This Mean? 

So why does Saudi Arabia owning a good percentage of the gaming industry matter in the media industry? The consolidation of IP (intellectual property) at a rapid pace, makes it near to impossible for smaller game creators and publishers to do well. This means fewer independent content creators and more of the “big IP” being controlled by a smaller number of powerful players. On one hand, large capital injections can enable ambitious media projects, new formats, cross-platform experiences, and global reach. On the other hand, when companies become part of large consolidated entities, the creative risk might go down (safer IP, sequels, monetisation, optimisation) which can affect diversity of content in the media industry.

References: 

Compendio, C. (2025, September 30). All the gaming companies Saudi Arabia owns or has invested in. GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/all-the-gaming-companies-saudi-arabia-owns-or-has-invested-in/2900-7081/ 

McWhertor, M. (2025, October 4). Why is Saudi Arabia in the games business?. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/ea-saudi-arabia-gaming-pif-public-investment-fund/ 

Pif | How Pif is supercharging the new golden age of gaming | public investment fund. (n.d.). https://www.pif.gov.sa/en/news-and-insights/news-network/2025/how-pif-is-supercharging-the-new-golden-age-of-gaming/