TOKYO: Saudi Arabia is moving aggressively with its investments in more gaming companies, the Canadian industry veteran steering the kingdom’s push to become a global hub for the sector told AFP Friday.
The kingdom has already been spending heavily with a $38-billion push into gaming under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 program, part of a plan to diversify the economy away from oil.
“We don’t pause. We don’t do neutral,” Savvy Games CEO Brian Ward said in a joint interview in Japan with Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, chair of the Saudi eSports Federation.
“It’s a good time to be in the market, looking for good teams in studios,” said Ward, a former executive at “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Microsoft.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has bought stakes in “Resident Evil” maker Capcom and Japanese giant Nintendo, as well as in Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts.
Savvy, a PIF subsidiary, in 2022 bought a $1.1-billion stake in Sweden’s Embracer in 2022 and bought Scopely, the US mobile games company behind “Monopoly Go!,” for $4.9 billion last year.
“There’s a lot we want to do to get it done and to reach our targets at 2030,” said Prince Faisal, who is also Savvy vice-chairman.
“But we also want to make sure that we are taking the time to study things, to look at things. And make sure we’re making the right steps and not just throwing cash out there to see what hits,” he said.
ESports World Cup
In eSports, Savvy also bought tournament organizer ESL Gaming and the platform FaceIt. Riyadh will also host the eSports World Cup in July and August, when 2,500 gamers will battle for $60 million in prize money.
Prince Faisal, who credits video games for giving him insights into real-life history, said the tournament would help put Saudi Arabia on the global gaming map.
“A gaming industry is something you can start now and you’ll see the results in five to 10 years. And so to start momentum going, to start a conversation, esports is a great entry point,” he said.
Saudi Arabia aims to create 250 gaming companies and studios on its soil, 39,000 game-related jobs, be in the top three of professional gamers per capita and to produce a blockbuster “AAA” game by 2030.
The objective at the same time is for gaming to account for one percent of gross domestic product, something which Prince Faisal admits “keeps me up most at night.”
“One of the amazing things is we have a long history of storytelling in our region. It’s typical Bedouin culture is sitting around a fire telling the story,” he said.
“The tools are there... I think we can come up with not just the next great game, but the next great story.”
Saudi Arabia’s gaming drive
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about Saudi and who we are as Saudis,” Prince Faisal said.
“And the best way that I can say to answer that is to come and see and what you’ll see on the ground is very different than the conception that’s out there.”
Ward said he had been assured that Saudi Arabia’s gaming drive would be “consistent with the values and culture of our industry.”
“We have been given carte blanche to operate like a true games company. We don’t do anything different at Savvy being based in Riyadh than we would if we were in New York, Los Angeles, or Berlin.”
Saudi Arabia spending big for a place on the gaming map
https://arab.news/z7jdj
Saudi Arabia spending big for a place on the gaming map
- The kingdom has already been spending heavily with a $38-billion push into gaming
Football’s return to Syrian pitches brings fanfare — and friction
RIYADH: Just 10 days after the first anniversary of Syria’s Liberation Day, and one week after the historic performance of the country’s football team at the 2025 Arab Cup — where they reached the quarterfinals — domestic football returned as the Syrian Premier League kicked off its new season.
While league football has continued intermittently since a one-year suspension in 2011, this season represents a notable shift.
For the first time since 2017, the competition features 16 teams playing a full round-robin format — a return to structural normality after years of disrupted campaigns, withdrawals and operational challenges caused by conflict and deteriorating infrastructure.
Foreign players have also returned in significant numbers. A total of 25 overseas players are registered across the 16 clubs in what is now known as the “Prime TV” Syrian Premier League, following the broadcaster’s acquisition of domestic broadcasting rights for the season.
Yet despite the sense of renewal, the league’s reset has been far from smooth. Average attendances remain well below pre-war levels, while the season itself was delayed multiple times before eventually beginning in mid-December — a schedule that is now expected to extend deep into the summer months.
Concerns over facilities and fan safety have already sparked internal tension. The anticipated Matchday Two fixture between Tishreen and Hottin — also known as the Latakia Derby — was postponed by the Syrian Football Association until further notice. No official explanation was provided, but stadium readiness and crowd safety has been at the core of football discussion in Syria.
Supporters have also voiced their frustration over the newly announced ticket prices. Entry fees increased from 5,000 Syrian pounds ($0.45) to 15,000 SYP, a threefold rise announced by the SFA and widely cited as a factor behind subdued crowds.
Infrastructure remains a pressing issue. Historic venues such as Khalid Ibn Al-Walid Stadium in the city of Homs are still not cleared to host games due to pitch conditions and safety requirements, reinforcing the sense of uneven progress — advances made, but frequently offset by new obstacles.
Operational shortcomings were evident as early as the first game of the season. In the opening fixture between Al-Shorta and Hottin, a formal warning was issued to the former by the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee due to a breach in organizational arrangements for the match, including the failure to provide ball boys, which led to a five-minute delay to kick-off.
Political sensitivities have not been easy to navigate either. Al-Karamah were fined 1,500,000 SYP after fans directed verbal abuse at Al-Wahda player Milad Hamad, due to previous political posts made on his Facebook account.
Five days later, Al-Wahda announced Hamad’s suspension from all sporting activities pending review by the relevant committee at the SFA. “This decision comes in solidarity with all our beloved Syrian fans and as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the unity of our people and our land, and to the fact that the blood of our martyrs in the Syrian Revolution has not been shed in vain,” the club said in a statement posted via their official Facebook page.
Rebuilding a sustainable football system in Syria has proven complex. The league’s return has brought moments of excitement alongside renewed tension — a reminder that restoring domestic football is not simply about restarting competition, but about addressing the structures that support it. The Syrian Football Association was contacted for comment, but did not respond.
