Saudi Arabia gaming and esports

Opinion: Saudi Arabia is pursuing an attractive strategy globally to grow the gaming and esports industry

Humanity is predominantly tribal with a unity of social formation characterized by a single origin. Humans are distinguished from other creatures with know-how, science, knowledge, and skill. These qualities not only bring us together within the framework of one family and a common feature among humans but also in other virtual worlds such as social networks.

Among our greatest advantages is the ability to create virtual communities, and our evolving capabilities in determining what we share with each other in the virtual community, at the same time discovering that what connects us with each other is the same that can transport us to more attractive, evolving and more engaging worlds with others.

In the year 2021 and at the Global Summit for Industry and Industrialization, which is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in the UAE and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization – UNIDO, Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud was the president of the Saudi Federation for Electronic Sports, which may be the president of the largest and most powerful society of games and esports in the world, speaking by saying:

The sector has witnessed growth in light of the Corona epidemic crisis by more than 70%. The Middle East is characterized by competitive advantages, and the high proportion of young people and the strength of the Internet infrastructure have strengthened the strength of the sector

A whole year has passed in which Saudi Arabia has made huge leaps in growth on several indicators in the esports sector. Prince Faisal returns to pose the question directed to the world this time in the opening of the “Next World” forum that was held last September in Riyadh, “Why not Saudi Arabia?”

This question reflects the typical picture of the e-sports sector in Saudi Arabia across all indicators, if we focus on the most important of these indicators, such as the rate of spending on games in relation to the global average of 25 percent, where Saudi Arabia comes in an advanced position for the most developed countries for the rate of player penetration in the world.

Prince Faisal says in a broader answer to more than 1,000 leaders in gaming, esports, and the business world, and heads of the largest national esports federations.

A photo taken during the Next World Forum event

Saudi Arabia has a community that is passionate about games and esports, and we have organized many international events in various sectors. We have all the ingredients to compete, and most importantly our young cadres; Men and women, show the world how competent and capable they are

The global experience organized by Saudi Arabia in the largest gaming and esports event Gamers8, which attracted the largest gathering of esports players and teams in the world, is one of the most important answers that preceded the Prince’s question in the forum.

The leadership in Saudi Arabia was interested in a strategy that redefined this sector not only for the Saudis and the Middle East, as the world began to witness the capabilities of Saudi youth in organizing international championships as well as the accompanying events.

Attention from the highest government authorities

Some observers see that many countries are trying to locate games and electronic sports in their priorities, the CEO of “British Sports” says, “The amazing thing is that the leadership in Saudi Arabia has put this sector at the forefront of its development priorities and that the investment may be the highest in the world.”

Prince Faisal tells us that Saudi Arabia has become one of the global hubs for games and esports,

We have had support from the highest levels of government for everything we do, we as a federation for example with the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic Committee, so we are part of the global work, which the ministry is also doing as part of Vision 2030 to move away from oil and gas.

We have a stated ambition, which we announced four or five years ago, that games and esports will constitute at least one percent of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product by 2030.

So with this communication with government agencies such as the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Investment among others and projects such as Qiddiya, NEOM, and others, you can not only get all of that without coordination from the highest levels but also the support that we got from the community from day one

One of the most amazing things about Prince Faisal is the recent Gamers8 event and the number of young Saudi players who came to him and said they always loved watching these events but never thought they would get it here in Riyadh.

The CEO of the Saudi Federation for Electronic Sports, Turki Al-Fawzan confirms that the Kingdom has the ambition to lead this sector and the journey is that we are taking an emerging sector into a leading sector. This is a very long journey and creates opportunities for startups, entrepreneurs, and the private sector to invest in this sector

In fact, this view, stories, and experiences reflect the strategic decisions announced by the Saudi Crown Prince and the Prime Minister on the national strategy for games and esports.

So is the Saudi strategy for games and esports a global initiative as well..!?

DongHun Lee, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, Korea University, and managing editor of IGN South Korea replies, “Of course, it is going to be a global initiative, as Saudi Vision 2030 is now well known in South Korea.

DongHun Lee continues, “Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan’s participation in the WE 22 summit in Korea was an important topic for us in Korea. Saudi Arabia has investments in this sector in South Korea”.

International Esports Federation President Vlad Marinescu believes “we are a united family to grow together, develop together and enjoy what we do”.

At the heart of the strategy

(Photo by Bandar Algaloud)

The national strategy for games and esports is driven by the creativity and energy of our citizens and players, who are at the heart of the strategy. We meet the aspirations of the gaming community in Saudi Arabia and around the world, through exciting new careers, and unique recreational opportunities, with the aim of making the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the ultimate global center for this sector. By 2030. – Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister: Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

In my opinion, what distinguishes Saudi Vision 2030 is that most of its projects are unique and not an imitation or transfer of a global experience. It builds a new culture for building and developing businesses for a generation of young people who see the leadership in Saudi Arabia reshaping their view of the concept of development through a strategy that no other international visions knew. around the world.

It is the strategic view that most contributes to the development of a local and global economic model for the gaming and esports sectors.

It has contributed to creating opportunities for individuals and groups as well as companies and organizations and has created models capable of attracting those who wish to experiment and learn and a vision that reflects the size of the approach between national strategy and global impact.

The Saudi leadership realized at an early stage that the esports community is growing, developing, and expanding, and this is extremely important, realizing the need to secure local and global programs and projects, and opportunities that enhance competitiveness between individuals and groups.

Professor Yuval Harari argues that: No one has yet formed an alternative vision that has any kind of universal appeal.

Well, this is not true. When we look at the Saudi Vision 2030 and projects such as The line, NEOM, and finally the national strategy for the gaming and esports sector, we discover that it has such an attractiveness, it has left a global impact and this will change and affect everything…

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *