Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games to Double Down on Mobile Gaming After Monopoly Go’s Wild Success

What is Savvy Games Group’s Strategy for Mobile Game Development?

The mobile game Monopoly Go has been a major hit for Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, grossing $2 billion in revenue since its release in April 2023.

With this runaway success, the company decided to invest more in mobile game development and acquisitions, with its recently acquired mobile game maker Scopely leading the charge.

Savvy CEO Brian Ward stated that Scopely, which operates 8 game development studios itself, will be the “tip of the spear” for their investment strategy.

This could mean additional funding for Scopely as well as acquiring a new “genre-leading title” to add to their roster.

How Much Capital Do They Have to Deploy?

In 2022, Savvy announced its ambitious plan to transform Saudi Arabia into a hub for the video game industry, backed by a staggering $38 billion in funding.

So far they have invested $8.3 billion, including:

• The $4.9B Scopely acquisition (July 2023)
• Over $1.5B into esports company ESL Faceit Group (Jan 2022)
• An undisclosed investment in Embracer Group

While the company has already invested billions, Ward emphasized that they are not in a rush to deploy all the capital within a set timeframe.

Instead, their top priority is “enabling Scopely to do what they do best” just like they did with Monopoly Go.

Scopely boasts a proven track record of developing and publishing a wide range of highly successful games, particularly in the mobile gaming space.

The company’s portfolio includes beloved free-to-play franchises such as “Star TrekTM Fleet Command,” “Stumble Guys,” “Yahtzee With Buddies,” and many more.

Scopely’s latest release, “MONOPOLY GO!,” launched in April 2023, quickly became the most downloaded game worldwide and was hailed as the biggest casual mobile game launch of the last five years in the West.

Scopely’s CEO Javier Ferreira revealed that the company spent nearly $500 million on marketing alone for Monopoly Go, surpassing even Sony Group Corp.’s development budget for the hit console game Spider-Man 2.

This massive investment paid off, as Monopoly Go achieved an audience of 10 million daily active users and generated massive revenue.

As an autonomous business unit under the Savvy umbrella, Scopely will benefit from Savvy’s long-term investment to grow and deepen its existing franchises and studios across the industry through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

Esports and Other Investments Struggling

While mobile gaming like Monopoly Go has been a clear success, some of Savvy’s other investments have faced challenges:

• ESL Faceit laid off 15% of staff in February, though Ward claims this was just to eliminate redundancies.
• A planned $2B investment in Embracer Group fell through last year, though Ward remains “bullish” on the company.

In recent years, Savvy has made significant investments in esports with the acquisition and then merger of ESL Faceit Group for a massive $1.5 billion, but the industry’s struggles to attract audiences and sponsors have raised concerns.

Hence, Ward declared that Savvy is no longer making large investments in esports after its early focus on the sector.

Source: BNN Bloomberg