PC Gamer is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
By published
The King of Fighters is owned by the crown prince.
Mohammad bin Salman is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia: the leader of a country that represses human rights, a man linked to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and a fan of China’s Xinjiang re-education camps. He is also now, via the Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), the ultimate owner of the iconic gaming developer and publisher SNK.
The EGDC first acquired a 33.3% stake in SNK in November 2020, and at the time announced it planned to buy more shares. In February this year it did so, raising its stake to an all-but-done 96%.
Looks like EGDC (the company owned by Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman) bought 96% of the company (previous stake 33%) in February, like a day after KOFXV came out.It’s still listed on the KR stock exchange, maybe that’s the remaining 3.82%?per SNK: https://t.co/lvdEM8mgk2 pic.twitter.com/hd4HBi4oxZApril 5, 2022
SNK is probably best-known now for King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown, but is also behind the singular vision of the Neo-Geo consoles, which were brilliant machines, unavoidably aspirational, and eye-wateringly expensive. SNK and Neo-Geo meant quality above all else. The company would eventually end up in bankruptcy in the early 2000s, squeezed out of hardware and forced into various corporate shenanigans to keep the brand alive—and indeed, a bright note in recent years was that the SNK heritage, with excellent titles like the Samurai Shodown reboot, felt like it was vibrant once more.
So it’s quite sad to see it all end up in the hands of Mohammed bin Salman (opens in new tab). The EGDC bought shares worth approximately $430 million for this majority stake, and SNK is not alone in being wooed by Saudi cash: the regime has huge investments in the likes of Activision Blizzard (roughly $3 billion worth of shares), EA ($1.9 billion), Take-Two ($1 billion). One bright spot is Riot Games, which ended a partnership with the planned Saudi Arabian cross-border city of Neom after fans pointed out Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses.
Rich is a games journalist with 15 years’ experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as «[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike.»
Sign up to get the best content of the week, and great gaming deals, as picked by the editors.
Thank you for signing up to PC Gamer. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
