Brian Ward, the CEO of the Saudi-Arabian-state-owned Savvy Games Group, has left his role. During his tenure, he oversaw $38bn of investment into various gaming companies, including Pokemon Go developer Niantic, and Monopoly Go’s Scopely.
In a message sent to staff, verified by Bloomberg, Ward wrote: “As Savvy embarks on its next period of transformational growth, this is the right time for new leadership for that evolution”. His role will be filled temporarily by Turqi Alnowaiser, deputy governor of the Public Investment Fund and Head of its International Investments Division.
Ward’s run as head of Savvy Games Group had its wins and misses. The company spent $3.5bn on Niantic back in 2025 after the thunderous success of Pokémon Go, and earlier still dropped $4.9bn on Scopely, a studio best known for mobile powerhouse Monopoly Go. Savvy Games Group also invested heavily in esports, a sector that has yet to return much profit and has acted more as a marketing venture for the Saudi Arabian state through the esports world cup. Mind you, recent turbulence in the middle east resulted in the latest event to move out of Riyadh and into Paris.
This departure comes shortly after Saudi Arabia’s leveraged buyout of EA for an eye-watering $55bn, its largest investment in the gaming industry yet and the largest acquisition of its type in history. According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the Electronic Arts acquisition has sparked concern internally at Savvy over how the two giant Saudi-owned video-game businesses will be run.
Speaking to Eurogamer, author of Power Play and writer of the games industry memo George Osborn, said: “Objectively speaking, he’s done a good job in a tough brief. Whatever your view on the politics of the whole thing — see Power Play for my opinion — Ward seems to have done the job diligently.
“Compared to the Saudi investment in other industries, Savvy struck a sensible balance between some smart value generating acquisitions and ecosystem building. The purchase of Scopely was a key success, while pulling the plug on investment into Embracer at the right moment showed discipline. Ward ultimately built Savvy into an impressive portfolio on behalf of the Saudi state. Whether it remains intact after this is another question.”
As for what will happen to Savvy Games Group moving forward, Osborn points to its strange position compared to other Saudi Arabian ventures into the gaming sphere.
“It lacks the reputational clout of EA in the global games market and lacks the economic punch of the Public Investment Fund, which has allowed one of its deputy governors to oversee the company,” Osborn said. “It also sits at the centre of a costly strategy at a time when the state is tightening its belt.
“Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if its focus is directed entirely towards the Saudi sector, if it was tucked underneath EA or if the PIF gathered it back under itself as part of Vision 2030. Whatever happens, Savvy built much of the Saudi sector as we now see it. And Ward played a major role in making that happen.”
