Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has acquired $3 billion worth of stock in U.S. game companies Activision Blizzard, EA, and Take-Two Interactive.
As reported by Aljazeera, the Riyadh-based organisation is chaired by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, who last November acquired a 33.3 percent stake in Japanese game company SNK though his charity, Misk.
Under Bin Salman’s guidance, PIF has picked up 14.9 million Activision shares worth $1.4 billion, 7.4 million EA shares worth $1.1 billion, and 3.9 million Take-Two shares worth $826 million.
According to the PIF website, the fund was established to “become the world’s most impactful investor, enabling the creation of new sectors and opportunities that will shape the future global economy, while driving the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia.”
Its latest investments, however, might concern those in the games industry, with Saudia Arabia’s poor human rights record coming under increasing scrutiny, and Bin Salman themselves facing allegations relating to the assassination of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the the torture of human rights activists.