Saudi Arabia intends to invest $38 billion in eSports

Saudi Arabia plans to invest $38 billion to turn the kingdom into an esports and gaming hub by 2030, according to Bloomberg. The investment targets are part of plans to diversify the economy of the world's largest oil exporter. Similar plans were also announced in a press release from the Savvy Gaming Group consortium to the media.

Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi government's public investment fund, will spend $13 billion to acquire gaming publishers, $18 billion to buy shares in gaming companies, and $5 billion to invest in various gaming activities. In addition, the material also mentions investments in eSports, which will amount to $ 500 billion.

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of Savvy Gaming Group: "We are harnessing the untapped potential of the esports and gaming sector to diversify our economy, drive innovation in the sector, and further expand entertainment and esports competition across the kingdom."

Saudi Arabia has already begun to actively invest in the esports and gaming industry. In the past, state investment fund Savvy Gaming Group has increased its minority stakes in Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Nintendo. The fund also acquired a $1.05 billion stake in Embracer Group AB and Modern Times Group's esports arm.

In addition, Savvy Gaming Group acquired ESL and FACEIT in early 2022 for a total of $1.5 billion. With this deal, the two leading esports platforms are the first step in Saudi Arabia's expansion into esports.

It is noteworthy that the state is also actively investing in traditional sports - a little less than a year ago, the state investment fund of the government of Saudi Arabia became the owner of the English football club Newcastle.