Saudi-based investment firm Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) has reportedly acquired additional shares of Japanese video game publisher Capcom, the studio behind IPs like Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and upcoming sci-fi adventure Pragmata. A new report from GameBiz claims that a “Large Shareholding Report,” submitted to the Kanto Local Finance Bureau on Monday, April 6, boosts the group’s number of Capcom shares by more than 1 percentage point — from 5.03 percent to 6.04 percent — making EGDC no. 4 on Capcom’s list of major shareholders. While a single percentage point may seem insubstantial at first, this shift amounts to the difference between 26 million and 32 million shares.
New aggregated data from MarketScreener shows the EGDC has invested a cumulative $617 million in Capcom. Just last month, the group made another 5 percent investment despite already holding a 5 percent stake; EGDC said its March 2026 acquisition was “pure investment.”
Saudi firm EGDC acquires additional Capcom shares
Saudi firms have increasingly invested in popular media brands in recent years. The uptick is likely related to the country’s Vision 2030 plan to rehab its image and transform itself into a global gaming and entertainment destination.
The Electric Gaming Development Company investment group, founded in 2020, is owned by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi monarch maintains control of the EGDC through the MiSK Foundation (the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation), which he also owns.
MiSK, in turn, owns 100 percent of Fatal Fury studio SNK and mobile brand Nexon Co., following a massive $1.2 billion investment in 2022.
The investments don’t stop there. After becoming a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2023, mobile game company Scopely bought Pokémon GO label Niantic for $3.5 billion in March 2025. The Saudi PIF also holds stakes in multinational gaming brands Electronic Arts (EA), Activision Blizzard, and Nintendo.
Saudi entertainment investments: spending or ‘sportswashing?’
Gamers, developers, and industry experts have voiced concerns as Saudi investment firms ramp up acquisitions, prompting questions about potential changes to workplace culture, industry monopolization, and more. Consumers have also cited potential conflicts of interest, noting that the Jared Kushner-led Affinity Partners formed an “investor consortium” with the Saudi PIF and firm Silver Lake to acquire EA.
Opponents of Saudi Arabia’s media takeover call the region’s lofty investments “sportswashing,” arguing that the region is rehabbing its image by buying into globally beloved entertainment brands. Through increasingly visible investment and involvement in sports and gaming, investors can gussy up global perception and ultimately steer audience attention away from headline-making human rights concerns. Following the prominent death of journalist and outspoken government critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, a United Nations (UN) report released in 2019 named “the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” as “responsible.” Saudi Arabia has continually denied involvement.
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