Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) has acquired a 33.3% stake in SNK, the Japanese video game developer best known for "The King of Fighters" and "Samurai Showdown. The value of the share transfer is 813 million riyals (approximately $223 million/167 million pounds). Here's where it gets interesting: EGDC is a subsidiary of the Muhammad bin Salman Foundation ("MiSK"), the charitable organization of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, and MiSK plans to buy more shares, raising its stake in SNK to a whopping 51%. [But Saudi Arabia's crown prince is not just a wealthy man, he is a controversial leader of a country that still suppresses basic human rights such as freedom of expression. Last year, Muhammad bin Salman was implicated in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and appears to have spoken out in support of China's Xinjiang re-education camps, which are said to house the Uighur, a Muslim minority living in China.

All in all, Muhammad bin Salman is probably not someone you should sell your company to or work with, even indirectly. Previously, Riot Games ended its partnership with the Saudi cross-border city of Neom after fans pointed out human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. SNK, on the other hand, had worked with MiSK last year in the form of an animation internship.