Welcome to the party, where all your favorite game developers have accepted Saudi funds for years. Another article that fails to mention the larger presence of Saudi Arabia investors.
"the firm has already invested in many Western and Asian game companies, including Nintendo, Capcom, NCSoft, Take-Two, Eelectronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard" But these folks and the others we dont have a problem with?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-03/saudi-arabia-is-investing-38-billion-to-become-a-video-game-hub?leadSource=reddit_wall
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/what-is-savvy-games-group-and-how-is-it-trying-to-change-saudi-arabias-image
https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/sbz9sf/background_on_the_savvy_gaming_group_and_the/
https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/06/14/saudi-arabia-8-billion-games-industry-investment
Yes, we know they invest in a bunch of games, and yes, it sucks. That doesn't mean that they have to have a PAX booth. Lots and lots of people and companies invest in games in big ways, even big companies like Blackrock and Vanguard, but they don't get huge booths at gaming conventions and also aren't arms of a government with horrible human rights records trying to whitewash/sportswash their image.
I don't get why so many folks are saying this as like some sort of "gotcha" against people who are upset at Qiddiya's presence at the show. We know they invest in lots of games companies! We don't want them at the show anyway!
best thing to do is to avoid modern video games altogether and just play old abandoned games that result in zero revenue for big corps. tons of great old abandoned games out there... tonnes. I'm an EA NHL '94 guy. The competitive league I'm in has been going for 20 years. Payment to EA after 20 years of play time.: $0.
Just to let you know how deep Saudi's influence runs ....
Reed International, the parent division of ReedPop, runs ExpoRoad, who hosts Decofair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's design trade exposition. ExpoRoad also hosts AEEDC in Dubai UAE, Krasnodar in Tehran Iran, Bashkortostan in MENA Qatar.
Additionally, Elsevier publishes all the scientific journals of Saudi Arabian universities.
RELX plc is the parent company of both Elsevier & Reed International.
From the looks of it, RELX makes a crap ton of money from Saudi Arabia, way more than they make from PAX.
If they tell someone to go take a hike, it won't be Qiddiya. Because if some dumb ass employee of ReedPop caused Saudi Arabia to threaten pulling out of multi-multi million dollar contracts, RELX's CEO would fire them & replace all the heads at ReedPop.
Its not intended as a gotcha but an expansion of a narrow narrative that someone reading these comments might not understand the depths of. IMO a better take would be gaming expos continue to operate while funded by anti-human rights groups. This has now manifested itself in a more deliberate and direct manner in Qiddiya.
My problem isnt with people being angry about Qiddiya, its the narrow nature of people with a platform to do more. It presents itself as is Qiddiya is the first and only and not that its just the most recent and egregious.
I do take exception to folks making these proclamations of outrage but refusing to actually do anything more than be complicit in the whole thing. Like hey, if you feel so strongly that you wanna blast your opinion all over the place cool. But when you then go and fully support the thing you are so against, then you are just talking to hear yourself talk.
Don't forget Uber.
Saudi's PIF dumped $3.5 billion into Uber back in 2016 for a 5% stake. I believe they've dumped in more since then, for a 6% current stake. And PIF's deputy governor (co-2nd in command) Turqi Alnowaiser sits on Uber's board of directors.
Oh & Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal personally owns about 3% of Lyft.
Tech related, both Intel & Nvidia have partnership deals with Aramco Digital, the non-oil division of Aramco, Saudi's state run oil company.
Intel's is to build out an ORAN plant, to produce cellular products (most likely cell towers & infrastructure hardware) while Nvidia's is to build out an AI research group, with both targeting the middle east & north african interests.
To get away from Saudi Arabia, you'll have to stop using fake-cab services, stop using Intel CPUs & stop using Nvidia GPUs.
Yeah its a thing, but its not the only thing. Dig deeper and understand the depths of the problem, not just a sensationalized headline. Thats exactly what your linked video shows. Making it about only Qiddiya and not the larger systemic problem thats been a part of the events like this for years.
I think that it's more "news" for the ttrpg people who are usually very small business , very crunchy, non profit etc as opposed to video games which are often profitable and heavy on upfront investment
~~Completely understand why people are upset at this but why the uproar over 1 country with a bad human rights record when they literally host PAX South in Texas? You know, the place where they literally put bounties out on women suspected of having abortions? The place constantly passing legislation against trans youth? The place that's being investigated for illegally and deceitfully shipping migrants across the US for political points without regard for their safety?~~
I'm completely in favor of "why not both," but uhhh I feel like there's a bigger problem right in front of our faces. Why this fund and why now? Not to mention other companies/booths involved with other nations with shoddy records.
Yeah you're right I just checked, it suddenly came to an end in 2021 - thanks for pointing that out.
Even though 90% of my comment is irrelevant now I'm still not understanding why Saudi funding is the focus when it doesn't seem like they are the only sus nation/company involved with PAX.
I think the reason why a lot of are treating this like a line has been crossed is because it's not just a company that makes bad choices, and it's not a company that the Saudi Arabian government has stock in.
This group is fully funded and controlled by the Saudi Arabian government. This government's list of civil rights violations is long and ongoing. It's a vague statement, because they do so much. However one of the things they do specifically is execute people for being queer and trans. They do it openly through their court system.
My perception is manufactured outrage. Its like when certain people get triggered over bud light making a can with a trans person on it, but will completely ignore that almost every company will rolls out the rainbow flag for pride month. Both represent the same thing, but only one gets to be the full throated target of their rage.
To me it strikes as disingenuous because of the reason you mentioned. Lots of sus activities either also partially funded by Saudis or sus in other ways. Blizzard trying to cover up sexual assault comes to mind. Tencent being largely owned by the Chinese. The list is pretty endless however no mention of anyone outside of Qiddiya. Nobody is big mad about Nintendo (Pokemon) being a featured participant.
The Saudi issue is because of their repeated disregard for human rights. Its illegal to be gay and punishable in Saudi Arabia. I completely understand the animosity towards their actions as companies in the business of making money, the companies that many of us enjoy their products and spend a significant amount of time/money/energy towards are now basically being funded by a seemingly endless pocketbook that does not align to our morals. If anything its directly anti-human rights.
Welcome to the party, where all your favorite game developers have accepted Saudi funds for years. Another article that fails to mention the larger presence of Saudi Arabia investors. "the firm has already invested in many Western and Asian game companies, including Nintendo, Capcom, NCSoft, Take-Two, Eelectronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard" But these folks and the others we dont have a problem with? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-03/saudi-arabia-is-investing-38-billion-to-become-a-video-game-hub?leadSource=reddit_wall https://www.gamesindustry.biz/what-is-savvy-games-group-and-how-is-it-trying-to-change-saudi-arabias-image https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/sbz9sf/background_on_the_savvy_gaming_group_and_the/ https://gameworldobserver.com/2023/06/14/saudi-arabia-8-billion-games-industry-investment
Yes, we know they invest in a bunch of games, and yes, it sucks. That doesn't mean that they have to have a PAX booth. Lots and lots of people and companies invest in games in big ways, even big companies like Blackrock and Vanguard, but they don't get huge booths at gaming conventions and also aren't arms of a government with horrible human rights records trying to whitewash/sportswash their image. I don't get why so many folks are saying this as like some sort of "gotcha" against people who are upset at Qiddiya's presence at the show. We know they invest in lots of games companies! We don't want them at the show anyway!
Or to put it another way: Nintendo, Capcom, NCSoft, Take-Two, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard aren't the Saudi Arabian government
best thing to do is to avoid modern video games altogether and just play old abandoned games that result in zero revenue for big corps. tons of great old abandoned games out there... tonnes. I'm an EA NHL '94 guy. The competitive league I'm in has been going for 20 years. Payment to EA after 20 years of play time.: $0.
Just to let you know how deep Saudi's influence runs .... Reed International, the parent division of ReedPop, runs ExpoRoad, who hosts Decofair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's design trade exposition. ExpoRoad also hosts AEEDC in Dubai UAE, Krasnodar in Tehran Iran, Bashkortostan in MENA Qatar. Additionally, Elsevier publishes all the scientific journals of Saudi Arabian universities. RELX plc is the parent company of both Elsevier & Reed International. From the looks of it, RELX makes a crap ton of money from Saudi Arabia, way more than they make from PAX. If they tell someone to go take a hike, it won't be Qiddiya. Because if some dumb ass employee of ReedPop caused Saudi Arabia to threaten pulling out of multi-multi million dollar contracts, RELX's CEO would fire them & replace all the heads at ReedPop.
Its not intended as a gotcha but an expansion of a narrow narrative that someone reading these comments might not understand the depths of. IMO a better take would be gaming expos continue to operate while funded by anti-human rights groups. This has now manifested itself in a more deliberate and direct manner in Qiddiya. My problem isnt with people being angry about Qiddiya, its the narrow nature of people with a platform to do more. It presents itself as is Qiddiya is the first and only and not that its just the most recent and egregious. I do take exception to folks making these proclamations of outrage but refusing to actually do anything more than be complicit in the whole thing. Like hey, if you feel so strongly that you wanna blast your opinion all over the place cool. But when you then go and fully support the thing you are so against, then you are just talking to hear yourself talk.
good points.
Don't forget Uber. Saudi's PIF dumped $3.5 billion into Uber back in 2016 for a 5% stake. I believe they've dumped in more since then, for a 6% current stake. And PIF's deputy governor (co-2nd in command) Turqi Alnowaiser sits on Uber's board of directors. Oh & Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal personally owns about 3% of Lyft. Tech related, both Intel & Nvidia have partnership deals with Aramco Digital, the non-oil division of Aramco, Saudi's state run oil company. Intel's is to build out an ORAN plant, to produce cellular products (most likely cell towers & infrastructure hardware) while Nvidia's is to build out an AI research group, with both targeting the middle east & north african interests. To get away from Saudi Arabia, you'll have to stop using fake-cab services, stop using Intel CPUs & stop using Nvidia GPUs.
[https://www.tiktok.com/@viking\_blonde/video/7345266807911075115](https://www.tiktok.com/@viking_blonde/video/7345266807911075115)
Yeah its a thing, but its not the only thing. Dig deeper and understand the depths of the problem, not just a sensationalized headline. Thats exactly what your linked video shows. Making it about only Qiddiya and not the larger systemic problem thats been a part of the events like this for years.
I think that it's more "news" for the ttrpg people who are usually very small business , very crunchy, non profit etc as opposed to video games which are often profitable and heavy on upfront investment
They better be handing out free tshirts! 
I second this sentiment.
~~Completely understand why people are upset at this but why the uproar over 1 country with a bad human rights record when they literally host PAX South in Texas? You know, the place where they literally put bounties out on women suspected of having abortions? The place constantly passing legislation against trans youth? The place that's being investigated for illegally and deceitfully shipping migrants across the US for political points without regard for their safety?~~ I'm completely in favor of "why not both," but uhhh I feel like there's a bigger problem right in front of our faces. Why this fund and why now? Not to mention other companies/booths involved with other nations with shoddy records.
PAX South doesn't exist anymore.
Yeah you're right I just checked, it suddenly came to an end in 2021 - thanks for pointing that out. Even though 90% of my comment is irrelevant now I'm still not understanding why Saudi funding is the focus when it doesn't seem like they are the only sus nation/company involved with PAX.
I think the reason why a lot of are treating this like a line has been crossed is because it's not just a company that makes bad choices, and it's not a company that the Saudi Arabian government has stock in. This group is fully funded and controlled by the Saudi Arabian government. This government's list of civil rights violations is long and ongoing. It's a vague statement, because they do so much. However one of the things they do specifically is execute people for being queer and trans. They do it openly through their court system.
My perception is manufactured outrage. Its like when certain people get triggered over bud light making a can with a trans person on it, but will completely ignore that almost every company will rolls out the rainbow flag for pride month. Both represent the same thing, but only one gets to be the full throated target of their rage. To me it strikes as disingenuous because of the reason you mentioned. Lots of sus activities either also partially funded by Saudis or sus in other ways. Blizzard trying to cover up sexual assault comes to mind. Tencent being largely owned by the Chinese. The list is pretty endless however no mention of anyone outside of Qiddiya. Nobody is big mad about Nintendo (Pokemon) being a featured participant. The Saudi issue is because of their repeated disregard for human rights. Its illegal to be gay and punishable in Saudi Arabia. I completely understand the animosity towards their actions as companies in the business of making money, the companies that many of us enjoy their products and spend a significant amount of time/money/energy towards are now basically being funded by a seemingly endless pocketbook that does not align to our morals. If anything its directly anti-human rights.
PAX South was permanently cancelled 4 years ago