Saudi prince’s alleged Steam account celebrates EA takeover

A Steam account believed to belong to a member of the Saudi royal family briefly changed its name to “I bought EA” following his takeover of the American video game company.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is perhaps best known for allegations that he ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and for his grandiose plans to build the futuristic desert city of Neom.

However, his passion for anime and video games is also well documented, which has long fueled speculation that he may be behind a Steam profile belonging to a user under the name of “Abdullah_Al_Saud.”

The profile features thousands of games and numerous expensive items, suggesting it belongs to someone with the means to own such a royal collection.

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While never officially confirmed, the latest account activity has reinforced suspicions in the gaming community that it belongs to Prince Mohammed or another senior royal.

The profile, named “Saudia, na-na-na” at the time of publishing, briefly changed its tagline to “I bought EA. ***** Next?” – suggesting Saudi Arabia’s shopping spree in the entertainment industry is not over – and then to just “I bought EA.”

A byline on the profile also read “Thank you so much, Reddit!” and linked to a seven-year-old forum thread about a bug regarding Dota 2, a video game developed by Valve.

Some Redditors in that thread appeared to believe that the original poster was Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz. Reportedly a big fan of the game, he was also thought to be the owner of the Steam account in question.

Whether linking to an old Reddit forum was meant to hint at Saudi Arabia’s next investment target or to suggest the identity of the profile’s owner remains a matter of speculation.

The problem with the Prince bin Abdulaziz theory is that he was detained in 2018 as part of Crown Prince Mohammed’s purge of rivals and has not been seen or heard from publicly since.

Some in the community also believe the account may not be run by a single member of the royal family, but rather by a government-backed esports or investment agency, which could explain the use of a pop-girlie aesthetic on the profile that clashes with Crown Prince Mohammed’s macho image.

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The unprecedented $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts by a consortium of investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, which is founded and led by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has divided gamers.

While some said it would save the company, others expressed concern over content control and creative autonomy.