Saudi Arabia Once Banned Videogames. Now, It Wants to Export Them.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—For years, this kingdom’s Islamic clerics waged a war on videogames, banning popular titles such as “Pokémon” for promoting blasphemy, violence and laziness. Now, Saudi Arabia is pouring $40 billion into a bid to become a world leader in a videogame industry beloved by its booming youth population. The Saudi sovereign-wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, owns multibillion-dollar stakes in the companies involved in producing “Pokémon” and other global hits the Saudi clerics once banned, like “Diablo” and “Red Dead Redemption.”