Saudi Arabia takes its place in the video game industry

Last year, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohamed ben Salmane announced a $38 billion investment plan for Savvy Games, a group specialising in electronic games and sports and owned by the country’s wealthy sovereign wealth fund.

The development of the sector places particular emphasis on the local industry, promising to become an «Eden» for game designers «promoting Saudi and Arabian culture».

In addition to the museum, Gamers8 offers numerous training workshops, which have introduced more than 3,000 young people to skills such as coding and animation.

The national strategy has set itself the target of producing 30 games in Saudi Arabia capable of competing at world level by 2030.

According to an official from the Saudi eSports Federation, the kingdom now has 25,000 developers, both local and expatriate.

With «expertise from abroad and the transfer of skills, we will be able to identify games capable of international success», he asserts.

Local publishers can in any case count on unconditional fans like Khaled Alghaith, a 14-year-old who claims to test all the games created by her compatriots.

Gaming now plays a major role in entertainment around the world, and it is predicted that some 322.7 million people will occasionally follow e-sports competitions between now and 2025.

According to a study by the Dubai Mullti Commodities Center, the gaming sector in the Middle East and North Africa region is expected to generate $6 billion by 2027.

Globally, Asia Pacific remains the largest market. China, the United States and Japan are the main players in this field.

Rayan Abjul