RPG-specialist video game studio Artisan recently announced an agreement with the Ministry of Investment in Saudi Arabia to open up a new branch in the Middle Eastern country. This is Saudi Arabia’s latest major step into the games industry after recently announcing plans to expand more into the space. Artisan Studios is a new developer that has already made an impact on the RPG scene with titles like Super Neptunia RPG and, most recently Astria Ascending. The studio has always been primarily French, with its two branches located in Montpellier, France, and Quebec, Canada respectively. Still, studio CEO Mario Rizzo recently announced plans to open a new foreign-owned game studio in Saudi Arabia.
A New Saudi Arabia Game Studio
News of Artisan’s expansion into the Middle Eastern Kingdom came via both the company itself along Saudi Arabian sources recently, and excitement over what’s to come seems to be generally high all around. The country recently announced plans to expand into the gaming industry, one of many moves media observers consider a means of bolstering its economy against its over-reliance on oil.
Many Western media sources have been critical of Saudi Arabia’s continuing encroachment on the medium, citing the country’s poor human rights track record and its routine banning or censorship of various games like Final Fantasy 16, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Grand Theft Auto 5, and more. It does raise certain questions like, for example, what role women will play in the games, considering the country just lifted its ban on women driving in 2018 and on segregated areas for single women in restaurants and cafes in 2019.
Artisan Studio’s most recent title, Astria Ascending, has not been particularly well received by the RPG community. The game currently sits with mixed overall reviews on Steam. Many reviews criticize the title’s story, voice acting, and some questionable decisions with regard to mechanics. The studio’s first title, Super Neptunia RPG, had a more positive reception, though, and considering the studio is very new, there’s still a lot of opportunity for major improvement in the future. There will certainly be a lot of eyes on whatever the new studio in Riyadh puts out first, so it will be interesting to see.
