Bethesda dropped the much-rumored Oblivion Remastered, which quickly reached 4 million players. I’m not much of an Elder Scrollser, but even I excitedly rolled up a Khajit thief to save Tamriel.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an old-school RPG that marries Persona combat with a novelistic (and very French) story, also released to sterling reviews. I’ve loved what I’ve played, and look forward to excavating its emotional depths.
And then there’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves — a very long-awaited return to a SNK series from the 90’s. The fighting game also, bewilderingly, features real-life footballer Cristian Ronaldo. My colleague Lindsay Totty reported on how the Saudis are to thank for the unexpected cameo:
Through its nonprofit organization, the MiSK Foundation, founded by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia now owns 96% of SNK. Ronaldo plays for a Saudi Pro League soccer team owned by the Saudi royal family. Ganacci has performed at Saudi sporting events.
Michael Townsend, a fighting game content creator known as Rooflemonger says he's seen how the star power of Ronaldo, who has more than 650 million followers on Instagram, is attracting attention.
"I've already seen many people who would not have had any interest in the game say because their favorite player is in the game, they're going to buy the game," Townsend says.
Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar with the Arab Gulf States Institute, says this strategy is aligned with Saudi Arabia's broader investment project known as Saudi Vision 2030.
"There's a big push towards sports and entertainment, and to these more creative fields," Diwan says.
But Saudi Arabia's image remains deeply polarizing. The country faces global criticism for its human rights record, including the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA in 2021 determined was ordered by Mohammed Bin Salman. Also, inside the kingdom, same-sex relationships are still punishable by law.
