Savvy eyes multibillion-dollar deals in China and Asia amid US-China tensions

• Backed by $38bn from PIF, Savvy aims to become the world’s No.1 games and esports company.
• Currently ranked 8th globally, Savvy is pushing to climb the publishing charts.
• Ward admits AI poses challenges to job creation but says it also brings new opportunities.
• Scopely is credited with driving Savvy’s success, hitting $10bn lifetime revenue.

Savvy Games Group has disclosed its plans to secure a multibillion-dollar deal in China and other Asian markets. 

As reported by Financial Times, the company cited US-China geopolitical tensions as an opening to closer partnerships following its acquisition of Scopely earlier this year.

“There is a great deal of development talent in China that are looking for access to international markets,” said Savvy Games CEO Brian Ward. 

“We think for the right teams we are significantly better placed than a lot of other competitors, American competitors to offer a home to Chinese developers.” 

Ward also said that being based in Saudi Arabia allows the company to avoid regulatory hurdles that block deals between China and the US. 

“We don’t have that regulatory or geopolitical burden because Saudi Arabia is not only geographically but kind of geopolitically in the middle,” Ward said.

Vision 2030 ambition

Backed by a $38bn fund from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund since 2021, Savvy is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify the economy and grow the tech sector.

“The mandate is to create the world’s number one games and esports company,” Ward said. “We are currently the number eight largest games publisher by net revenue, so we’ve got a ways to climb the chart still.”

One of the Kingdom's primary goals as part of Vision 2030 is to create more jobs. However, Ward has acknowledged that the rise of AI tools that automate parts of game development poses a challenge to Savvy’s goal of creating high-tech jobs for young Saudis. 

He noted that while roles will differ from what was envisioned a few years ago, AI still creates new opportunities and “plenty of jobs". 

Last month, Savvy credited Scopely in its annual report for driving its 2024 success by becoming the world’s second-highest-grossing mobile publisher with $10bn lifetime revenue.