Saudi Arabia now owns 10% of Capcom, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) acquired a 5% stake.
Gamebiz.jp reports that the EGDC’s acquisition, part of the Crown Prince’s MISK Foundation, is “pure investment.” Added to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s existing 5% stake, EGDC’s acquisition of an additional 26.78 million shares raises the country’s ownership of the developer and publisher to around 10%.
The increased ownership comes as Resident Evil Requiem has now sold six million copies, making it the fastest-selling instalment of the horror game since it all kicked off in Raccoon City thirty years ago.
The controversial Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, has already invested a significant amount of money into international gaming companies, including Take-Two, EA, and Activision Blizzard. A subsidiary of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s foundation almost completely owns SNK Corporation, too, a Japanese video game hardware and software company.
Late last year, Ubisoft employees raised concerns around the company’s partnership with Saudi Arabia to create new Assassin’s Creed Mirage DLC. When Ubisoft quietly announced the DLC in late August, via a social media post sent out early one Saturday morning, the brief reveal confirmed that the add-on would see Mirage hero Basim visiting AlUla, an ancient site that’s now one of Saudi Arabia’s cultural highlights.
Content creators specializing in The Sims 4 content are leaving EA’s Creator Network in protest after EA confirmed it is also due to be acquired by an investor group composed of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
