Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Gaming Group embraces Embracer with $1B investment

Savvy Gaming Group, an investment group from Saudi Arabia, has invested deeply into Embracer Group. For $1 billion dollars from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Embracer shared out 99.9 million B-shares. This allotment equals an 8.1% stake in the Swedish video game and media holding company.

“Savvy Gaming Group has committed to invest heavily in the games and esports industry and to materially strengthen the global games community,” said Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Gaming Group. “This investment in Embracer Group is a starting point for a long-term commitment to the company.”

The first half of 2022 has been interesting for Saudi Arabia’s PIF. Earlier this year, Savvy Gaming Group purchased esports companies ESL and Face It in a $1.5 billion dollar deal. The PIF also purchased stakes above 5% in both Capcom and Nexon for reportedly more than $1 billion per stake.

“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,” said Lars Wingefors, CEO of Embracer Group, in a statement. “Over the past few years, Saudi-based entities have become one of the most significant investors in the global gaming market, and the games market in MENA is one of the world’s fastest growing, with $5.7 billion in 2021 revenues and more active gamers than either the US or Western Europe.”

Embracer Group has been on a buying spree for the past few years, acquiring a number of large studios. Among those acquired are studios such as Gearbox Entertainment, Coffee Stain, THQ Nordic, and more. With this investment, the media giant can afford to grow a bit more.

Embracer now owns 120 game studios and it has 230 games in development.