Why Saudi Arabia is gearing up for electronic games 
Saudi Arabia hosted its debut Esport World Cup in Riyadh in July with a prize pool of over $60 million — the largest in the history of electronic games.
The prize was divided into four categories: game championships ($33 million), player bounties ($1 million), qualifiers ($7 million), and a cross-game competitive format club championship ($20 million).
Saudi Arabia has unveiled its National Gaming and Esports Strategy, marking the beginning of a new era toward leading the sector worldwide by making the Kingdom a global hub for esports by 2030.
Saudi Arabia’s focus on electronic games aligns with its ambitious Vision 2030 goals and objectives to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil. It is expected that the electronic games industry will contribute SR50 billion ($13.3 billion) to the Kingdom’s non-oil GDP and create 39,000 new job opportunities for Saudi nationals by 2030.
The National Gaming and Esports Strategy includes three main objectives: to have a direct impact on Saudi citizens, the private sector, and fans and professionals of games and esports around the world.
Additionally, it is expected to raise the quality of life in the Kingdom by improving player experiences, providing new entertainment opportunities, and creating a foundational environment for developing national competencies.
Finally, the strategy aims to enhance the Kingdom’s position on the international stage by producing more than 30 competitive games globally in Saudi studios and for it to become one of the top three countries for the number of professional esports players.
Saudi Arabia intends to implement the strategy through 86 initiatives covering the entire value chain, managed by more than 20 government and private entities.
The National Gaming and Esports Strategy is expected to raise the quality of life in the Kingdom by improving player experiences, providing new entertainment opportunities, and creating a foundational environment for developing national competencies.
Among the initiatives the strategy intends to focus on are launching business incubators, hosting major events for gaming and esports, establishing educational academies, and developing stimulating regulations to keep pace with the rapid growth in this sector.
The Saudi government recognizes the importance of esports internationally, especially electronic games, as esports in general and electronic gaming, in particular, are fast-growing industries.
Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, indicated that the global video game industry is a billion-dollar sector and has been for many years.
In 2022, revenue from the worldwide gaming market was estimated at almost $347 billion, with the mobile gaming market generating an estimated $248 billion of the total.
Statista believes that the gaming market is constantly evolving, and technological advancements are opening new possibilities for game developers to create more immersive and engaging experiences through emerging technologies like cloud and virtual reality gaming.
Fortune Business Insights indicated that the global video games market size was valued at $188.73 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from $199.74 billion in 2022 to $307.19 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.3 percent during the forecast period.
Saudi Arabia is gearing up to transform electronic games from merely a pastime to an industry that will support the Kingdom’s non-oil GDP economic growth and its endeavor to diversify its economy away from oil.
• Talat Zaki Hafiz is an economist and financial analyst. X: @TalatHafiz
