Saudi fund moving $12 billion in gaming stocks to subsidiary

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is transferring about $12 billion worth of video game company shares to Savvy Games Group, one of its subsidiaries. The move includes stakes in big names like Nintendo Co. and Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.

The transfer will boost Savvy’s position in the gaming world. After the shares change hands, Savvy will own roughly 10% of several companies including Koei Tecmo Holdings Inc., NCSoft Corp., Nexon Co., and Square Enix Holdings Co. Bloomberg news reviewed company documents showing these holdings.

Savvy Games Group was set up in 2021. The goal was helping Saudi Arabia put money into things besides oil. With $38 billion available to spend, Savvy purchased Scopely Inc., the developer behind Monopoly Go. They also invested in Niantic, which created Pokemon Go, and bought into several esports organizations. Monopoly Go turned out to be a hit. The esports investments haven’t gone as well – there have been staff cuts at the company.

The fund is the largest investor in Electronic Arts Inc.’s $55 billion buyout, but Savvy won’t be involved in that transaction, according to someone who knows about the deal. The government fund already transferred its 11 million shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. last month, that showed up in a late December regulatory filing. Savvy will keep using the PIF’s hands-off approach. They don’t plan to actively manage these investments, the person said.

Amar Batkhuu speaks for Savvy. He said they’ve been planning this transfer for a long time. “These transfers will move the stewardship of PIF’s games investments to Savvy, given Savvy is a leading games organization for the PIF and a core component of the National Gaming and Esports Strategy,” he explained. There aren’t any plans to change how they invest, he added.

EA shareholders voted yes in December to the $55 billion sale. Investors at the Redwood City, California-based company approved the $210-a-share takeover. EA publishes games like EA SPORTS FC and Battlefield.

It’s a big shift for EA after four decades. Saudi Arabia’s PIF is making large investments in gaming to reduce dependence on oil money. Going private means EA developers can focus on making games without worrying about quarterly earnings expectations from public investors.

Nintendo’s stock price in Japan has fallen hard in the last five months. It’s down about 33 percent from the peak, even though hardware sales look good. Shares hit 14,795 yen in August 2025 and closed at 9,950 yen today.

Several things appear to be bothering investors. Possible price increases down the road, fewer big first-party game releases, and holiday season discounts in Western markets have all weighed on the stock. The drop suggests confidence has weakened, despite Nintendo still posting strong numbers for its newest console.

The Nintendo Switch 2 came out on June 5, 2025. It sold 10.36 million units in the first four months – the fastest-selling console Nintendo has ever launched. That beat the original Switch timeline by five months. Holiday sales in the West were uneven, down around 35 percent compared to when the first Switch launched. Sales in Japan have stayed exceptionally strong though.

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