Scopely Inc. recently put down $3.5 billion to buy Pokémon Go, and Bloomberg reports that this is a manifestation of a bigger strategy to have a whole bunch of successful video games as part of a portfolio.
“There’s consolidation happening in the marketplace,’’ explained Scopely’s Co-Chief Executive Officer Javier Ferreira while at the Game Developers Conference. “What’s driving it is that it’s become increasingly difficult to achieve growth and success.”
The video game business might be a $178 billion industry, but at the same time sales were flat last year. If Scopely has multiple games doing really well, they can support one another. Right now the company has about 2,400 workers, but that number should soon rise.
Savvy Games purchased Scopely in 2023 for $4.9 billion. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns Savvy and therefore Scopely and now Pokémon Go, is interested in bringing more of the video game market into the country, as a way to diversify its economy. And it has deep pockets: $38 billion has been set aside for video game investments.
Bloomberg describes Scopely as “taking a relatively hands off approach to Pokémon Go.”
Savvy CEO Brian Ward remarked that he wanted to “find one thing, one genre-leading title or team capable of making one” in 2024, and he got that with the Pokémon Go deal. He noted, “Although we’re not in a race to deploy capital, I don’t think we can sit back and watch and see what happens.”
Saudi Arabia is also interested in getting more involved in anime. For instance, Manga Productions, which is part of Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, was one of the sponsors for AnimeJapan 2025, and this is the first time the con has received a sponsor from the Middle East.
There is also Saudi Arabia’s planned Dragon Ball theme park, which you can learn more about here.
Source: Bloomberg
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.