Global video game commerce company Xsolla announced this week that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabia government-owned Savvy Games Group to advance the “Kingdom’s Vision 2030” plan, which aims to create new jobs and create industries that will grow the economy, and create economic opportunities for game developers in the Middle East. Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the Saudi government, owns Monopoly Go developer Scopely as well as the ESL FACEIT Group and its portfolio of companies (ESL, FACEIT DreamHack, and Esports Engine).
Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Xsolla partnership will focus on the establishment of the Xsolla Savvy Game Development Academy, Incubator, and Accelerator programs, which will “support local and international game development studios,” according to the announcement. The partnership will also explore opportunities to host industry-leading video game events for business and consumer audiences,” provide funding for game development projects, and create connections between local studios and international investors. Also part of the deal, Xsolla plans to open a regional headquarters in Riyadh to provide “development, technology, customer support, and business development services to help developers and publishers scale and grow their games in the Middle East and the Kingdom.”
Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, said: “This partnership with Xsolla represents a significant step forward in our mission to elevate Saudi Arabia’s games and esports ecosystem to global prominence. By combining our resources and expertise, we are creating jobs and building a vibrant, sustainable industry that will drive opportunity and creativity for years to come.”
In case you aren’t familiar with the company, Xsolla is a global video game commerce company with a focus on providing payment systems in-game for publishers and developers. The company has partnerships in place with Valve, Twitch, Epic Games, Take-Two, KRAFTON, Nexters, NetEase, Playstudios, Playrix, miHoYo, and more, as well as headquarters in Los Angeles, Montreal, London, Berlin, Seoul, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Raleigh, and Tokyo.
On a related note, a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday took aim at the company’s CEO; the report claims that over the last two years, Xsolla’s CEO loaned himself over $100M USD of the company’s money, or roughly one-third of its revenue, according to documents viewed by the publication and sources familiar with the situation. While most of those loans were repaid, the report claims, he also spent millions more on an LA mansion, investments in NFTs, and a seven-foot Iron Man statue, among other things.