Saudi wealth fund increases stakes in EA and Take-Two Interactive

Saudi Arabia has upped its stake in major U.S. game publishers EA and Take-Two Interactive.

As spotted by Axios, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), a state-backed organization chaired by deputy prime minister and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, has increased its stake in EA to 5.8 percent from 5.1 percent. That's according to an SEC filing submitted in December 2022.

Another SEC filing submitted at the same time shows the PIF also increased its stake in Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two to 6.8 percent from 5.3 percent.

This isn't the first time PIF and the Saudi state has signaled its intent to invest heavily in the video game industry. Earlier this week, PIF bought more shares in Nintendo to increase its stake in the Switch maker to 7.08 percent.

Last year, the sovereign wealth fund also acquired stakes in Capcom and Nexon, and purchased a $1 billion stake in Embracer Group through its Savvy Gaming Group subsidiary.

Those deals have been scrutinized due to Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud's involvement with PIF. The Saudi crown prince has previously been accused of allowing human rights activists to be tortured, and has also faced allegations over potential links to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.