Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward steps down after $38bn spending spree on Niantic and Scopely
Brian Ward, the chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Savvy Games Group, has left his role after overseeing billions of dollars in mobile gaming acquisitions. His departure was announced in a message to staff, which was verified by Bloomberg, in which he stated that the company was entering a new phase of growth and that it was “the right time for new leadership for that evolution.” Turqi Alnowaiser, deputy governor of the Public Investment Fund and head of its international investments division, will serve as temporary replacement.
Ward became CEO of Savvy Games Group in 2021 and presided over a spending spree that totalled roughly $38bn in investments and acquisitions across the games industry. Among the most notable deals were the $4.9bn purchase of Scopely, the developer behind mobile hit Monopoly Go, and the $3.5bn acquisition of Niantic, the studio responsible for Pokémon Go. The company also took significant stakes in Embracer Group, Take-Two Entertainment, and Nintendo.
During his tenure, Savvy Games Group invested heavily in esports, a sector that has yet to generate significant profit and has largely functioned as a marketing exercise for the Saudi state through the esports world cup. Recent geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East has forced the latest event to relocate from Riyadh to Paris.
Ward’s departure comes shortly after Saudi Arabia’s leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts for $55bn, the largest acquisition of its kind in history. The EA deal was led by the Public Investment Fund, Savvy’s parent organisation, and did not directly involve Savvy itself. According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the purchase has sparked internal concern at Savvy over how the two giant Saudi-owned video-game businesses will be run.
Industry observers have offered mixed assessments of Ward’s tenure. George Osborn, author of the book Power Play and writer of the games industry memo, told Eurogamer that Ward had “done a good job in a tough brief.” Osborn noted that Savvy struck a sensible balance between value-generating acquisitions and ecosystem building, pointing to the purchase of Scopely as a key success and the decision to pull out of investment in Embracer at the right moment as evidence of discipline. “Ward ultimately built Savvy into an impressive portfolio on behalf of the Saudi state,” Osborn said. “Whether it remains intact after this is another question.”
Looking ahead, Osborn highlighted Savvy’s unusual position compared to other Saudi Arabian ventures in gaming. He noted that the company lacks the reputational clout of EA in the global market and lacks the economic muscle of the Public Investment Fund, which has placed one of its deputy governors in charge of the conglomerate. He also pointed out that Savvy sits at the centre of a costly strategy at a time when the state is tightening its belt. “Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if its focus is directed entirely towards the Saudi sector,” he added.
It remains unclear whether internal concerns over the EA buyout played any role in Ward’s decision to step down. The departure leaves Savvy Games Group in a period of transition, with questions about its future direction and whether its portfolio of investments will remain intact under new leadership.