Tech & Business
27.01.2022
Saudi Arabia invests in the video game sector
Saudi Arabia has just signed a massive contract in the field of e-sports. One goal: to become the leader in a sector that is popular worldwide, and the leading cultural market in many countries.
On January 26, 2022, Saudi Arabia announced the merger-acquisition of the European e-sports leagues ESL Gaming and FACEIT.
#PIF announces the launch of Savvy Gaming Group, chaired by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Chairman of PIF.
The Group aims to lead the national and international gaming and e-sports industry.https://t.co/5Lsp0ABAKE pic.twitter.com/yDv9FV2bGJ
— Public Investment Fund (@PIF_en) January 26, 2022
A transaction valued at a cool 1.5 billion dollars. An impressive sum considering that the Swedish entertainment company Modern Times Group, offered less than $100 million to acquire ESL Gaming in 2015.
”The new company will create the ultimate platform for competitive gaming”
Gaming, an asset of the “Vision 2030” plan
This is not the first time the Kingdom, host of several e-sport tournaments in recent months, has shown interest in the burgeoning discipline. The Savvy Gaming Group, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, himself a notorious gamer, aspires to become a leader in the gaming sector. Saudi Arabia is already considered the most developed market in the Middle East in this sector, with a value of one billion dollars in 2021.
E-sports tournament in Riyadh.
According to a statement from the Saudi Public Investment Funds (PIF), the establishment of Savvy Gaming Group is part of the diversification of the Saudi economy’s revenue sources. The PIF plans to invest $40 billion per year in the Saudi economy for five years. The video game industry has a bright future ahead of it in the Middle East.
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