In an effort to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s gaming and eSports industry, the kingdom has invested $488 million into it, as it continues to establish itself as a global leader in the field. The Saudi Electronic Sports Federation, the National Development Fund and the Social Development Bank have all contributed to this project.
The Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, skyline with the Kingdom Centre in the center at night. A new initiative to bring make the kingdom a global hub of gaming and eSports activity is receiving $488 million in economic support. (Image: Pinterest)
The new money will go a long way towards achieving this goal since he started working on it several years ago. Rawan Al Butairi, who is the director of the federal government’s international affairs office, said that the initiative will focus on both eSports and gaming during the Leap technology exhibition in Riyadh on Wednesday.
There was also a study program launched by the Saudi Ministry of Information and the Center for Government Communications in 2023, with 30 companies participating in training opportunities. At the same time, Playhera, an eSports tournament platform, announced a $100-million investment in a cloud-based gaming platform to help the company grow.
Saudi Arabia Takes Center Stage
A comprehensive investment strategy for the gaming industry was laid out by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last September when he revealed the National Gaming and Esports Strategy. This initiative aims to make Saudi Arabia a global gaming hub by 2030 as a means of creating wealth for the kingdom.
A recent YouGov survey revealed that the Saudi Arabian gambling industry is set to grow by 250% by 2030, and eSports are predicted to be a driving force behind that growth. The London-based market research firm said that by 2030, Saudi Arabia’s GDP will receive 50 times more economic input from gaming than in 2022.
In a separate report by the Boston Consulting Group, the group predicted that the kingdom’s gaming consumption would reach $8 billion by 2030. That amounts to a compound annual growth rate of 22%.
The latest data from research firm Newzoo shows that the global gaming market will grow by approximately 15% by 2025. This will be a jump from around $184 billion in 2022 to $211.2 billion. About half of that total was devoted to mobile games alone.
With revenues of $6.8 billion last year, the Middle East is the last of the five regions that Newzoo studied. That represents 6.6% of the global market; however, Saudi Arabia posted the highest growth rate in the region last year, at 4%.
It has been estimated that the global eSports market will grow 21% over the next six years, according to data Fortune Business Insights published. It’s going to jump from $1.44 billion in 2022 to $5.48 billion by 2029.
A Shift In Power
Nine66 indicates that, as a result of an incubation program, the number of game startups in Saudi Arabia should almost double from 13 in 2021 to 24 in 2022. Nine66 is a local company in Saudi Arabia that’s creating an integrated support system for game developers around the world, according to its website.
Also at Leap in Riyadh, US-based software development company Unity Technologies acknowledged its role in the local industry. It announced the first Unity Academy in the Middle East and Africa, an initiative that will support the kingdom’s overall gaming plans.
In addition, Saudi Arabia and The Sandbox are teaming up on new Metaverse projects. The Sandbox is a metaverse world on the Ethereum blockchain where players are able to create and monetize virtual properties.
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