In the modern gaming industry, putting out games that perform isn't enough to keep your doors open. We've seen it time and again with studio dissolutions, layoffs, and corporate closures left and right. Now, what happens if you used to make money but have fallen off in recent years? If the right people own you, you might just get fused with your competitors.
Reported by Bloomberg, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, current majority owners of both EA, the company behind Battlefield, Madden, and Dead Space, and Savvy Games, owners of Pokémon Go and various Esports groups, is considering merging the two companies into one supergroup.
The merger is currently on hold due to Savvy Games' own acquisition of the company Moontoon, a $6 billion deal that would give them ownership of the MOBA Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. While not as popular in the west, Mobile Legends is one of the most profitable mobile games on the planet, giving Savvy Games major sway in that subset of the industry.
This merger is a major step in the Public Investment Fund's goal to get a foot in the door of the larger gaming industry, a slow but steady process that saw them acquire EA earlier in 2026 and consolidate a vast majority ownership of Japanese fighting game dev SNK. These pushes into the gaming sphere are headed by the current Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a self-described gamer.
This outreach has been most felt within SNK's titles, most recently with the addition of odd picks for the base roster of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. These picks included, of all people, Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for the Saudi Pro League Club Al-Nassr. This club is majority owned by the Public Investment Fund, and most fans believe his inclusion is tied to the PIF's dual stake in both Ronaldo and SNK itself.
Day by day, we're seeing more studios under direct manipulation by different corporate groups, whether it be through forced closure, an increased push for AI in development, or mergers like this. Gaming is falling deeper into the grip of the corporations that pull their economic strings, and whether they're run by royal families or not, the sway these groups hold can't be understated or ignored.
Aside from the ongoing studio grab being undertaken by Savvy Games, the merger itself could be held up by antitrust inquiries, according to Bloomberg. These same inquiries stalled Microsoft's 69 billion dollar buy up of Activision Blizzard, and the sheer size of EA will likely make the deal a bit harder to squeeze.
This, for years, has been the current reality of the gaming industry, as major groups continue to attempt to consolidate and spread their influence in any way they can. While we see heavy economic hitters like Microsoft and the Public Investment Fund throw around money, Sony and Nintendo try to close themselves off, stripping back physical media and honing in on exclusive content respectively.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dualshockers.com/electronic-arts-and-savvy-games-facing-merger-via-saudi-wealth-fund/
