Saudi Arabia makes $1 billion investment in Swedish gaming giant Embracer in latest tech swoop

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made a $1 billion investment to acquire an 8.1  percent stake in Swedish gaming giant Embracer Group.

The move is the sovereign wealth fund's fourth venture this year into the global gaming industry, with the shares purchased set to be issued to the PIF's Savvy Gaming Group subsidiary.

"Savvy Gaming Group’s investment of $1 billion enables us to continue executing our strategy proactively from a position of strength across the global gaming industry," Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said in a statement. 

"The largest country in this market, by far, is Saudi Arabia, and having visited Saudi Arabia, I have seen the gaming community and the opportunities firsthand," Wingefors added.

A regional hub for wider expansion in the Middle East will be set up in Saudi Arabia, he said.

As a holding company, Embracer Group owns a number of gaming studios which have produced gaming franchises such as Saints Row, Goat Simulator and Dead Island.

Riyadh has set its sights firmly on increasing its share in the global gaming industry, as part of its “Vision 2030” economic restructure plan. In May, the Saudi PIF bought a 5 percent stake - worth $2.98 billion -  in Japanese gaming company Nintendo.

The kingdom also recently introduced "game development" into their computing curriculum to "enhance the culture of innovation…and training citizens to be able to design and program e-games", according to the Vision 2030 Quality of Life programme.

Saudi Arabia's gaming market hit $1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $6.8 billion by 2030, according to the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.