According to a Boston Consulting Group survey, an astonishing 67 percent of Saudi Arabians are video game players. This proportion amounts to a staggering 23.5 million gamers across the kingdom. It is understandable why the Saudi eSports Federation’s attempt to host Gamers8, one of the greatest gaming championships in the world, was a huge success.
Saudi Arabia was able to expand its gaming market penetration thanks to this heavily covered tournament, which also created a friendly environment for both experienced and rookie players. The event was a success and received a lot of great responses from people around the world, proving how much gaming can boost the Saudi economy.
Taking The Gaming Market To The Next Level
But Gamers8 was only the first step in Saudi Arabia’s planned entry into the gaming sector. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a self-proclaimed gamer and devotee of Call of Duty, unveiled his strategy for expanding the kingdom’s eSports and gaming industries on September 15.
The Crown Prince spoke about the project when it was unveiled. He stated: “The National Gaming and eSports Strategy is driven by the creativity and energy of our citizens and gamers, who are at the heart of the strategy.” He continued by saying, “We are delivering on the ambitions of the gaming community in Saudi Arabia and around the world, with an exciting new career, and unique entertainment opportunities, aiming to make Saudi Arabia the ultimate global hub for this sector by 2030.”
The editor of arabicbet.org, Basil Sadiq Sophie, complimented the project and said that “it comes in continuation to Saudi Arabia’s significant triumphs in reaching the sports and entertainment markets.” In addition to this, he said that “on top of the income that these actions would generate by themselves, Saudi Arabia eSports Betting might also become a major source of tax revenue,” and that the nation would be wise to give consideration to the possibility of this.
The Three Principles For Building A Gaming Market
The three guiding principles of the plan include improving the player experience, creating opportunities, and creating a projected SR50 billion economic growth. Additionally, if this proposal were to be implemented, 250 new national gaming companies would be created, which would result in the creation of 39,000 new vacancies in the industry.
Saudi Arabia plans to implement this strategy through a number of efforts in addition to these three main goals, including the organizing of significant eSports contests and the establishment of game studios with the aim of producing more than 30 titles that can be utilized in competitions.
According to the stated distribution of investment funds, a total of $13.3 billion will go toward the purchase and development of the video game industry in Saudi Arabia, while an additional $18.7 billion will be invested in other gaming companies; $533 million will go toward new video game and electronic sports businesses, and an additional $5.3 trillion will go toward Government owned Savvy Games’ strategic alliances.
The Finer Details Of The Plan
The Crown Prince’s plan is going to be implemented via a total of 86 different projects that cover the whole business model. These projects are going to be formed and run by over 20 different government and commercial organizations. They range from the founding of educational academies to the adoption of best practices to ensure the country is keeping pace with industry developments, to the creation of business incubators and the sponsorship of major eSports and gaming events.
Technology and hardware development, game creation, eSports, additional services, and other supporting components such as infrastructure, legislation, education, talent acquisition, and finance and financial assistance are just some of the eight categories that these activities fall into.
This in-depth strategy comes at the most opportune of times as the gaming and eSports business has a rapidly growing audience and has become a de facto economy that is expected to be worth $200 billion by 2023.
Closing Thoughts
Basil Sadiq Sophie emphasized his excitement toward the future by adding, “I’m quite enthusiastic to see how this plan will yield fruit. My interest in video games goes back a long way, and the prospect of living in the city that will become the new eSports center of the globe is beyond exciting.” We can’t help but agree with him as we wait at the edge of our seats to see how Saudi Arabia tries to raise competitive gaming to the next level.