In the illustrious realm of Saudi Arabia, a nation that has long harbored a fervor for gaming and e-sports, a captivating transformation is underway. This metamorphosis, known as the Gamers8 Festival, is an eight-week extravaganza of e-sports tournaments unfurling in the heart of Riyadh. With a staggering $45 million prize pool, this ambitious endeavor serves as a clarion call to inspire the nation’s youth to embark upon the creation of their own gaming opuses.
At the apex of this fervor stands Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a figure reputed to be an ardent aficionado of the virtual battlegrounds, particularly finding solace in the immersive landscapes of Call of Duty. In the preceding year, this 38-year-old visionary, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, unveiled a prodigious $38 billion investment strategy that bestowed munificent blessings upon the Savvy Games Group, a cherished entity within the Public Investment Fund’s portfolio.
As this exhilarating odyssey gains momentum, the national gaming and e-sports strategy unfurls its grand tapestry. Its central tenet, a clarion call for local game production, aspires to transmute the kingdom into an Eden for game developers, where they may craft novel masterpieces that extol the rich tapestry of Saudi and Arabic culture. The fulcrum of this endeavor finds its embodiment in the museum of video game history, an oasis where the legacy stretches from the genesis of Pac-Man to the zenith of PlayStation 5.
This ethereal sanctuary is complemented by the adjacent “game labs,” where throngs of aspiring talents, numbering some 3,000 souls, predominantly hailing from the Saudi soil, converge to partake in crash courses in the arcane arts of coding and animation. A luminous beacon, guiding them towards a new dawn in the kingdom’s gaming panorama.
“In the annals of yesteryears, Arab denizens were but patrons of games, not the architects thereof,” observes the sagacious developer, Mohammed al-Fakih, reflecting upon the transformative shift now underway.
Yet, amidst this palpable zeal for gaming, there exists an enigmatic conundrum. How does one devise a gaming magnum opus that not only attains international acclaim but also becomes a veritable mirror reflecting the facets of Saudi culture? Faisal bin Homran, the indomitable chief e-sports officer at the Saudi Esports Federation, acknowledges this challenge that has gripped the hearts and minds of 25,000 developers, both Saudi and foreign. “With the infusion of external expertise and the seamless transference of knowledge, we shall undoubtedly witness the birth of games poised to conquer the global stage,” Homran asserts with unwavering conviction.
In this quest for inspiration, one need not look far, for Saudi characters have already etched their indelible mark upon the global gaming landscape. Characters like Shaheen in the Tekken franchise and Rashid in Street Fighter, the latter hailing from an enigmatic Middle Eastern realm, perhaps the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia itself, exemplify the potential for Saudi cultural influence in the gaming sphere.
Dreams, however, know no boundaries, and Saudi officials, including Homran, dare to dream colossal dreams. The national strategy unfurls a formidable target: the creation of 30 globally competitive games nurtured within domestic studios by the year 2030.
Even in the nascent stages, Saudi-made games have resonated with fervent Saudi enthusiasts. One such aficionado, Khaled Alghaith, a devotee of Rocket League, spent his summer sojourn engrossed in the hallowed halls of Gamers8 labs, mastering the intricacies of coding. He fondly recollects the captivating experience of “Khashem,” a game suffused with Saudi essence. This opus narrates the tale of a character who, ensnared in the labyrinth of memory loss, must undertake a myriad of challenges, relying solely upon his olfactory senses to reclaim his lost memories. Alghaith reflects, “Every game birthed by a Saudi hand fills me with immense pride. It is a testament to our burgeoning talent.”
Despite its opulent endowment of oil wealth, Saudi Arabia has not always found a warm embrace in the global gaming fraternity. In the annus horribilis of 2020, the kingdom faced backlash from LGBTQ gamers, who vehemently decried Saudi Arabia’s prohibition of same-sex sexual acts. This tumultuous chapter led Riot Games and the esteemed Danish tournament organizer, BLAST, to sever ties with NEOM, a visionary $500 billion megacity project nestled along the shores of the Red Sea.
However, Riyadh’s resolute foray into the gaming realm has remained unwavering. In the present year, Savvy Games Group consummated a colossal acquisition, securing the prized asset of Scopely, a venerable California-based mobile games enterprise. Furthermore, the Public Investment Fund’s coffers now bear the imprint of more than 8 percent ownership in the venerable Nintendo.
As the sun sets on the desert horizon, Saudi Arabia stands poised on the precipice of a gaming renaissance, a land where the past converges with the future, and where dreams of virtual conquests become the impetus for real-world innovation. The Gamers8 Festival serves as a clarion call to the world, inviting them to witness the birth of a new era in the annals of gaming history.
