As has now been confirmed, the MiSK Foundation, financed by the Saudi Crown Prince, acquired 96 percent of the shares in the Japanese developer studio SNK in February. This is the first Saudi takeover of a well-known studio.
After Chinese companies such as Tencent and NetEase in particular had aggressively entered the video game market and taken over various developer studios in recent years, relevant investments from Saudi Arabia have recently made the headlines.
As has now been announced, the MiSK Foundation, financed by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, took over 96 percent of the shares in the Japanese developer studio SNK in February of this year. It is unclear why the deal has only now been made official. SNK is one of the most traditional developer forges in Japan and made a name for itself with arcade classics such as “Metal Slug” or “The King of Fighters”.
With the quasi-acquisition of SNK, the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (MiSK Foundation) says it is “reaffirming its continued commitment to its goal of increasing the positive impact on youth empowerment.”
Saudi Arabia wants to reduce dependence on oil
At SNK we are dealing with the first development studio that was completely taken over by the MiSK Foundation. In the past, Saudi Arabia has invested in other studios and publishers such as Capcom, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Nexon, but has always limited itself to minority holdings. According to experts, Saudi Arabia should try to reduce its dependence on oil and build up new sources of income with the billions in investments.
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As was to be expected in principle, however, criticism of the takeover of SNK was quickly voiced. This comes at a time when Saudi Arabia and especially Mohammed bin Salman are viewed quite critically due to various human rights violations. Saudi Arabia’s participation in the civil war in Yemen, which has probably claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, has been repeatedly criticized internationally.
Source: gamerant
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