Saudi Arabia to become a major player in
the gaming world
Saudi Arabia is aggressively investing in gaming companies, as part of its broader strategy to become a global hub in the gaming sector.
The kingdom's ambitious move includes a $38 billion investment in gaming under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 program, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil dependency.
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Arabia launches the Esports World Cup 2024
“We don’t pause. We don’t do neutral,” stated Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group, in a joint interview in Japan with Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, chair of the Saudi eSports Federation. “It’s a good time to be in the market, looking for good teams and studios,” added Ward, a former executive at Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft.
Prince Mohammed had planned to visit Japan this week but canceled due to King Salman’s lung infection.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has acquired stakes in Capcom, the maker of “Resident Evil,” and Japanese giant Nintendo, as well as in Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts. In 2022, Savvy, a PIF subsidiary, purchased a $1.1 billion stake in Sweden’s Embracer and acquired US mobile games company Scopely, the creator of “Monopoly Go!,” for $4.9 billion.
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World Cup coming to Saudi Arabia's Qiddiya
“There’s a lot we want to do to achieve our targets by 2030,” said Prince Faisal, who is also the vice-chairman of Savvy. “But we also want to ensure we are making informed decisions and not just throwing cash out there to see what sticks.”
'Gateway'
In eSports, Savvy acquired tournament organizer ESL Gaming and the platform FaceIt. Riyadh will host the eSports World Cup in July and August, where 2,500 gamers will compete for $60 million in prize money.
Prince Faisal, who credits video games with providing insights into real-life history, said the tournament would help put Saudi Arabia on the global gaming map. “A gaming industry is something you can start now and see results in five to ten years. Esports is a great entry point to start momentum and conversation,” he explained.
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Saudi Arabia aims to establish 250 gaming companies and studios within its borders, create 39,000 game-related jobs, rank in the top three for professional gamers per capita, and produce a blockbuster “AAA” game by 2030.
The goal is for gaming to contribute one percent to the gross domestic product, a target Prince Faisal admits “keeps me up most at night.”
“One of the amazing things is we have a long history of storytelling in our region. It’s typical Bedouin culture—sitting around a fire telling stories,” he noted. “The tools are there... I think we can come up with not just the next great game, but the next great story.”
Source: https://www.iraqinews.com/
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