Saudi Arabia’s investment in gaming and esports seems to be evergrowing; Mohammed bin Salman, who’s both the Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has increased their stake in Nintendo from 5.01 percent to 6.07 to add to their diversified investments.
The gaming community’s response has been filled to the brim with comments referring to censorship and reports from Amnesty International regarding rights violations.
According to reports by Reuters, Saudi Arabia has become one of the biggest investors in the company, paying for the investment increase through the funds from a sovereign wealth fund presided over by Salman. People pointed out the peculiarity of an “investment from people who censor or ban everything in games in their country.”
Redditors expressed that it was “really depressing how much Gulf money is in everything these days.”
However, others pointed out the Saudis could be “diversifying away from oil.” This could be a progression from the push to switch to renewable energy, and away from fossil fuels.
While this point might be correct, complaints throughout social media stem from the human rights track record that Saudi Arabia possesses. The country has a list of human rights abuses, featuring the imprisonment of people vocal against the Saudi government, a history of severe women’s rights abuse, and a very strong pro-stance on the death penalty for a variety of minor crimes.
Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project also caught heat due to the reports of the death of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, a vocal Indigenous community member who outwardly protested the $500 billion project. Rahim al-Huwaiti protested his eviction from the land needed for the NEOM project and was reportedly murdered as result.
The opinions of the Saudis investments seem to be splitting members within the gaming community. Some Redditors believe the “Gulf states are acting out of necessity, not an influence operation.”
The original investment took place in May 2022, with the deal making Saudi Arabia the fifth-largest shareholder in Nintendo.
This comes after a collection of investments by the Saudis. A subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian government’s public investment fund, the Savvy Gaming group, funds a massive portion of the CS:GO esports circuit after the acquisition of ESL through their $1 billion Embracer Group investment. In 2021 Saudi Arabia, to diversify the nation’s wealth, the country invested in gaming giants like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and Capcom.
Several countries from the Gulf region haven’t been far from controversy. The world cup in Qatar was shrouded in stories of worker deaths and human rights abuse.
The esports tournament organizer, BLAST, recently sparked discussion in the Danish parliament after revelations showcased that the government was indirectly sending funds through to the United Arab Emirates. They provided significant funding for the tournament organizers which ended up in the UAE’s pockets. After discovering that their funding had made this journey, the problem of BLASTs funding came into question.
Odds are this won’t be the final investment from the Saudi Arabians, so we’ll just have to wait and see which company they invest in next.
