From ginger cats, to five-letter words and mysterious character disappearances, 2022 has seen some of the most interesting games
Gaming industry
football fans
KFC Arabia launches limited-edition headset for gaming, football fans
KFC consumers can also get their hands on these limited-edition headsets
DMCC
Dubai opens next level video game hub amid $5bn industry push
Dubai freezone authority wants to take control of booming gaming industry
gaming business
Saudi-based Savvy Games Group unveils $38 billion investments across four sectors
The proposed investment will include SAR50 billion for the acquisition and development of a leading game publisher
Creative economy
Saudi Arabia’s new gaming and Esports strategy to place Kingdom as ‘global hub’ by 2030
The newly launched strategy, which is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, is expected to create over 35,000 jobs and contribute $13.3 billion to the country’s GDP by 2030
Blockchain
Metavest invests in Inery at $128 million valuation
Inery rolled out its first public testnet in August, scheduled for listing at the end of Q3 2022
eSports
Why gaming is a serious industry in the modern economy
The MENA region, home to one of the fastest-growing gaming markets, is set to benefit from the ongoing rise of the gaming industry
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi to host esports gig Blast Premier World Final 2022
It will feature eight of the world’s best esports organisations competing for a slice of the $1 million prize pool
content creators
Dubai’s Power League Gaming partners with Logitech G to launch ‘Stream School’
The initiative aims to assist those who aspire to enter this field by delivering the tools needed to get started with a successful streaming career
Dubai
Dubai Silicon Oasis looks into building e-sports campus to train future gamers
The free zone technology park will also host its first ever e-sports event in October as it develops Dubai’s gaming eco-system
Ahmed Albishri
Metaverse, AR, NFT activations to boost Saudi’s billion-dollar gaming industry under new Mastercard deal
The Saudi Esports Federation and Mastercard aim to make payments easier for gamers and create more immersive experiences for consumers in the region and around the world
Brian Ward
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund doubles down on gaming sector
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made its fourth investment this year in a gaming company by investing in Sweden’s Embracer
digital gaming
Female gamers set to push MENA industry past $5 billion by 2025: report
The research by RedSeer Consulting also predicts that female gamers could soon outnumber male players in the region
Digital Games Conference
In-person Digital Games Conference 2022 brings ‘Fable’ creator Peter Molyneux to Dubai
Attendees will also have the opportunity to win an Xbox console by beating the highest scores set by some of the UAE’s biggest streamers
5G
Middle East gaming heats up with 5G, metaverse on the rise
ITP.net sat down with the CEO of Dubai-based Power League Gaming, Matthew Pickering, to talk about the future of gaming
acquisitions
Saudi PIF’s Nintendo stake to further kingdom’s economic diversification
The PIF’s 5.01 percent stake in the Japanese gaming company is an indication that the industry is being taken seriously by the kingdom, and could pave way to localised content, experts said
Capcom
Saudi Arabia’s PIF acquires 5 percent stake in Nintendo as it drives further into gaming investments
The PIF has been building stakes in video game makers and e-sports firms such as Nintendo and Capcom over the past two years, turning to the Japanese market just as a weaker yen has made investments more affordable