I think Saudi Arabia has realized the FGC has no money, making it pretty easy to buy everything and take it over.

According to GameBiz, the Saudi-based investment firm Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) has acquired a large stake in Capcom. As of March 13th, EGDC owns a 5.03% stake in Capcom following the purchase of 26,788,500 shares. The investment firm claims this is “pure investment,” not a business plan. But it’s not what the FGC wants to hear on a Monday.

EGDC is owned by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, making it another investment firm tied to the country’s government. Capcom is no stranger to this kind of thing, as the Saudi Public Investment Fund also has a 5% stake in the company.

EGDC is also the parent company of SNK Corporation, meaning it owns Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and King of Fighters. In 2022, EGDC acquired 96% of SNK’s shares.

Different Day, Different Saudi Investment in FGC Esports

RTS, an esports company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya City, took full ownership of the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) in February 2026. Evo is the world’s largest and most prestigious fighting game event, with the top players in the world traveling to Las Vegas to compete in Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and more.

Even though RTS claimed that they want to “elevate and empower” the FGC and not really change Evo’s mission and values after the purchase, they announced soon after that a ton more tournaments were coming, watering down the importance of the Las Vegas event in many pros’ minds. The new Evo circuit will feature events across the world, including Saudi Arabia, culminating in a World Championship tournament.

There is really no denying that RTS aims to expand Evo, as other Saudi Arabian companies have done in other esports scenes. The Esports World Cup and Nations Cup have continued to prove that Saudi Arabia is dumping tons of money into esports, a struggling scene with no real money, and hoping to shape it to its liking.

It’s pretty easy for Saudi Arabian companies to take over esports, especially the fighting game scene. There is no money in esports aside from sponsors and investors, meaning esports organizations really have no choice but to compete in these tourneys with millions on the line and guaranteed payouts. Tournament organizers don’t really have the choice either, with many losing tons of money hosting events (especially in the FGC, once more).

With Saudi Arabian companies buying fighting game publishers, there is definitely a greater chance they will have a say in the games’ content and esports plans, despite what they claim. We all saw what happened with Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s DLC about Saudi Arabia after Ubisoft announced it was getting funding from the Public Investment Fund.

The esports community believes this is part of the country’s “esports washing” effort, using esports to generate hype and overshadow much of the bad press and negative views of the country and its politics. It has made the FGC feel quite weary of the country’s continued involvement, especially since many FGC scenes are grassroots and don’t want the massive commercialization and expansion offered by Saudi investors.

Unfortunately for the FGC, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.