Saudi Arabia is making it big in Esports as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced the launch of the Esports World Cup.
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Crown Prince launches Esports World Cup
Saudi Arabia said on Monday it was launching an annual Esports World Cup, which will include the most popular games in the world and have the largest prize pool in esports history.
The first competition will be held in summer 2024, a statement from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, and is expected to be the largest global event of its kind. It will serve as a platform to support the gaming and esports sector in the region and will consolidate Saudi Arabia’s position as a hub for international esports.
The event also invited the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo who met with the Crown Prince to mark the launch. The Al-Nassr superstar was part of a panel in Riyadh.
An honour to meet again with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman and great to be part of this panel today discussing the future of esports and the launch of the first ever #esportsworldcup that will be held in Saudi Arabia next year! pic.twitter.com/1N4AVYn9Pv
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 23, 2023
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, has showed his love for video games in the past. In a recent interview with FOX News Channel anchor Bret Baier, he said “Video games. Since I was a kid, I love it.” He even said video games help him disconnect from reality. His favorite game is known to be Call of Duty.
Esports in Saudi Arabia
The online gaming industry has spread around the Middle East where Saudi Arabia is the regional powerhouse. It is hoped that the industry will create almost 40,000 jobs for what is a youthful population by the end of the decade in the country.
Most recently, the world’s largest gaming and esports festival, Gamers8 was hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Professional gamers, influencers, and industry leaders from all over the world joined together in Riyadh to discover an eight-week adventure, which featured a multitude of events, gaming tournaments, workshops, and more, with some activities having a prize pool of $45 million.
When asked about the gaming ministry in Saudi Arabia, HRH stated, “Esports is one of the most important things happening globally. It’s one of the most growing industries on the planet. It grows 30% every year.” He further stated that the industry is competing with Hollywood in terms of viewership.
The Crown Prince stated on Monday, that the World Cup “is the natural next step in Saudi Arabia’s journey to become the premier global hub for gaming and esports”. The launch of the tournament is aligned with the goals envisioned in Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming Strategy, which aims to increase the sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product by more than SR50 billion ($13.3 billion) by 2030.
More details about the World Cup event will be revealed in the initial months of 2024.
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