Saudi Arabia invests $1B in Embracer, parent of Gearbox and Asmodee

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has made a $1 billion investment in Embracer Group, a Swedish game and media holding company, according to a report by Bloomberg. Embracer owns Gearbox (Borderlands), Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider), Dark Horse Media (Dark Horse Comics), and Asmodee Group — the tabletop giant that was recently purchased for $3.1 billion dollars. It is part of an overall effort by the kingdom in diversifying its income from fossil fuels and expanding its investment in the gaming industry.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) wholly owns Savvy Gaming Group, the entity that made the investment. This makes Saudi Arabia the second-largest owner of Embracer Group. Saudi Arabia has made several major investments in media and gaming. Just last month it purchased 5.01% of Nintendo, worth an estimated $2.98 billion, becoming the company’s fifth-largest shareholder.

These aggressive investments in media are aligned with the overall goals of the Saudi PIF. The kingdom is trying hard to transition the country’s economy away from fossil fuels, which account for some 70% of its exports at this time. Other sovereign funds made investments, including in Uber and Facebook as well as Boeing.

Brands who produce family-friendly content are particularly discouraged by an association with Saudi Arabia. This country has a terrible record of human rights violations. The most recent accusation was for war crimes against Yemen. But it’s most high-profile act in recent memory was the grisly murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. According to a Central Intelligence Agency declassified report, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved extrajudicial murder.

The United States has a solid relationship with Saudi Arabia. It also maintains economic and military partnerships throughout the world. It is the third leading source of all of our country’s imported oil.