Games revenue in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt alone are expected to exceed $3billion in 2025, with over 85 million gamers playing across mobile, PC, and console
gaming market
Gaming industry
Saudi wealth fund PIF reveals latest video game bet with Nexon stake
Public Investment Fund discloses a 5.02% stake in Nexon, the company behind role-playing games like MapleStory and Dungeon&Fighter
Activision Blizzard
Saudi wealth fund’s Activision bet set to get $1bn Microsoft lift
The deal will help rescue PIF’s bet on the gaming publisher, whose shares have fallen more than a third since its investment
blockchain technology
Play-to-earn: How gamers are profiting off crypto games
Play-to-earn is emerging as a trending business model in the gaming industry, creating new token-based incentives that help monetise time spent by gamers
data centres
How data centres are shaping the future of gaming in the Middle East
As one of the fastest-growing markets in terms of gamers and revenue, it is only expected for publishers to prioritise the MENA region
DGC MEA
Speakers revealed for KSA edition of the Digital Games Conference Middle East and Africa
Event, which is being held virtually from December 13-15, will focus on Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing games industry and its ambition to be a global player in this sector
augmented reality
AB Live: Business of gaming – how to monetise, the role of emerging tech and ethical challenges of the industry
Habib Chams from ITP Gaming and Karim Ibrahim from Robocom VR discuss the business of gaming in the time Covid-19, monetisation avenues for gamers, role of emerging technologies like AI, VR, AR and XR and the ethical dilemmas and challenges of the industry.
eGamers
Neom signs MoU to become global e-gaming hub
Saudi officials believe 21 percent of Saudi Arabia’s young population participate in online gaming every week
Gaming events
Top UK gaming festival set for Dubai launch
Insomnia Gaming Festival, the UK’s number one gaming event, is set to launch in Dubai in October
cloud computing
Fortnite launches dedicated Middle East server
The new region is hosted by the firm’s cloud computing partners in Mumbai
Ammar Al Malik
Chinese gaming giant picks Dubai to set up regional HQ
Dubai Internet City will be home to the regional headquarters for the Middle East and North Africa of Tencent Games
cloud computing
Etisalat launches the UAE’s first cloud gaming service
eLife set-top box allows gamers to play the latest games without the need to have a separate game console
Gaming events
Video: More than a hobby – the business of gaming in the Middle East
John Paul Lacey, founder of Power League Gaming and Luciano Rahal, Club Director of Nasr eSports reveal what helps gamers, publishers and developers make the big bucks, strategies used by top companies, and where the future of the gaming industry is headed towards in this exclusive interview with ABTV’s Shruthi Nair.
Alphabet
Nintendo, Sony fall after Google unveils a gaming service
Stadia runs through the company’s YouTube video-streaming platform and takes advantage of Google’s extensive network of data centres