Nintendo’s Largest Foreign Investor is Now Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has once again increased its stake in Nintendo, making it the company’s largest outside shareholder. The sovereign wealth fund, via its Savvy Games Group division, originally held a little over 6% of the video game company’s shares at the start of 2022. As of now, it has an 8.26% stake in Nintendo, surpassing Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund but still behind Nintendo, which owns 10.35% of its shares.

Industry consultant Serkan Toto told Bloomberg that he wouldn’t be surprised if PIF continues to increase its stake in Nintendo in the future. The country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been leading an effort to invest in the video game industry, with a $38 billion budget allocated to Savvy. The fund has been on a major spending spree, including a recent $265 million investment in the esports organization VSPO, backed by Tencent.

Despite these investments, the Saudi government’s stance on human rights has been criticized, particularly in the wake of the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had been critical of the government. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been accused of ordering Khashoggi’s death after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Nevertheless, the PIF has also invested $1 billion in European giant Embracer Group and acquired stakes in EA, Activision-Blizzard, and Take-Two Interactive.