Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s EGDC firm has acquired 5% of Capcom
His Public Investment Fund already bought 5% of the company in 2022
Saudi Arabia Crown Mohammed Bin Salman has acquired around 5% of Capcom through one of his investment firms.
As reported by Gamebiz, the Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) has acquired 26,788,500 shares of the company, which comes to around 5.03% of the total shares.
The EGDC is a subsidiary of the Misk Foundation, also known as the Mohammed Bin Salman Foundation, and was founded by the Crown Prince.
It’s the same company that acquired 96% of acclaimed Japanese developer SNK in 2022, gaining full control of the King of Fighters and Fatal Fury company.
Saudi Arabia also bought 5% of Capcom shares back in 2022, with the purchase made by the nation’s Public Investment Fund. It’s believed this new 5.03% stake is entirely separate from that transaction.
According to Gamebiz, the purpose of this new share acquisition is said to be “pure investment”, with the aim being to make profit from capital gains and dividends.
This is the latest in a series of investments made by Saudi Arabia in video game developers and publishers around the world.
The most notable of these is the proposed acquisition of Electronic Arts which, if concluded by mid-2026 as planned, would be a transaction valued at $55 billion with the Public Investment Fund owning 93.4% of the company.
In recent years Saudi Arabia officials have said its investments in the games industry will help to modernize the kingdom, but they have come with negative fallout due to the country’s highly criticised human rights abuses.
Notably, the crown prince has been accused by US Intelligence of ordering the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The country has also has historically cracked down on female activists and LBGTQI+ rights, with legal repercussions for LGBTQI+ individuals including imprisonment, fines or the death penalty according to Amnesty International.
