RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has strengthened its investment in the video gaming sector as it increased its stake in Japan-based Koei Tecmo. According to a disclosure to the Japanese Ministry of Finance quoted by Bloomberg, the Public Investment Fund has raised its stake in the video game company to 6.60 percent from 5.56 percent. Founded in 2009 following the merger of Koei and Tecmo, Koei Tecmo is known for developing several popular video games including Nobunaga’s Ambition, Dynasty Warriors, Atelier, and Ninja Gaiden. Some of the other noted video games developed by the company include Dead or Alive, Monster Rancher, Fatal Frame, and Nioh. The move by the PIF aligns with the goals outlined in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil. In September 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched the Savvy Games Group’s strategy, with an investment budget of $37.7 billion in the video gaming industry. Through the plan, Saudi Arabia aims to achieve a $13.3 billion contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product from the video game sector by 2030. After the launch of the strategy, the crown prince said: “We are harnessing the untapped potential across the esports and games sector to diversify our economy, drive innovation in the sector and further scale the entertainment and esports competition offerings across the Kingdom.” Savvy is currently accelerating talent in the Kingdom and catalyzing Saudi Arabia’s unique geographical location to build a dominant global hub for games and esports. Over the past two years, PIF has been making several investments in the video game sector. In February 2023, PIF raised its stake in Nintendo Co. to 8.26 percent from 7.08 percent, making it the largest outside investor in the Japanese gaming company. Nintendo is one of the most prominent names in the global video games industry, with a portfolio of titles including Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, and Mario. Apart from Nintendo and Koei Tecmo, PIF also has shares in gaming companies like Nexon and Capcom. In 2021, the fund also bought a stake in Activision Blizzard, the creator of Call of Duty, with an estimated stake worth $3.6 billion.