The Budget Deficit and Bin Salman s 25 Billion Gaming Investments Raise Criticism of the Spending Policies in Saudi Arabia

At a time when the budget of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the year 2026 acknowledges a financial deficit estimated at about 165 billion riyals, amid government measures that included reducing the funding of some projects, events, and local services, the accelerating news is intensifying about the tendency of the Public Investment Fund to conclude huge acquisition deals externally, the most prominent of which is the partnership with “Silver Lake” for the potential acquisition of the “Unity Software” company at a value approaching 25 billion dollars.
Follow-ups — Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
These developments, represented in the pursuit of owning the basic technical platforms and engines of global gaming, come as an extension of a series of billion-dollar deals led by the Fund’s arm “Savvy Games Group,” such as the acquisition of the “ESL” and “FACEIT” companies with a total of 1.5 billion dollars, along with the previous exorbitant bets that weighed down the public treasury without feasible financial returns that compensate for the costs.
Observers and critics believe that this huge investment expansion in global entertainment and technology sectors reflects the dominance of the individual disputes and personal whims of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over directing the capabilities of the national wealth, away from the objective economic criteria, and in complete disregard for the priorities of local development and meeting the urgent needs of citizens in light of the exacerbation of the comprehensive financial crises.
In light of the continuation of the billion-dollar spending on the sectors of hobbies and digital entertainment directed at the new generation, the human rights and political criticisms directed at the economic policies of the Saudi regime are escalating, considering that these billions are wasted on elite entertainment projects that lack transparency and accountability, at the expense of developing the interior and alleviating