Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a development plan on Thursday, particularly for the country’s esports industry. It’s referred to as the National Gaming and Esports Strategy.
The plan sets a mission to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for the gaming industry by 2030, as the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reports. The strategy aims to create 39,000 jobs and stimulate GDP by $13.3 billion (50 billion riyals) by 2030.
According to SPA, the plan will involve business incubators and educational institutions. More than 20 government and private firms will implement the plan through 86 programs. Major competitions and other esports events will take place regularly.
The Strategy has three core objectives— achieving an economic impact, providing new entertainment opportunities, and improving players’ experience to raise life quality. The plan has set a target for Saudi gaming studios to produce more than 30 games in the Kingdom by 2030. Saudi Arabia aims to become one of the top three countries with the highest number of esports competitors by encouraging more Saudis to take gaming as a profession.
The global gaming industry is projected to count revenue of $200 billion this year, reports Newzoo. In terms of spending on video games, the United States is currently leading the way, followed by China in the second position. Middle East and Africa’s gaming revenues are the lowest in the world. However, Saudi Arabia— a country of about 21 million gamers, estimated one billion dollars of expenditure on gaming and esports last year.
