Spotify, EA Sports test in-game music integration in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom has become a growing market for gaming and electronic sports, driven by a young and tech-savvy population. (Supplied)
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Updated 01 May 2025
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Spotify, EA Sports test in-game music integration in Saudi Arabia

  • Players in Kingdom can now link their account directly with video game

LONDON: Spotify and EA Sports have launched a pilot project that allows players to link their Spotify accounts directly with the EA Sports FC 25 video game.

The feature is being rolled out in Saudi Arabia and selected other markets.

The project, which was announced on Thursday, enables Spotify Premium users to log in via a new tab in the main game menu and control music playback during gameplay, including during team selection or from the pause menu.

The Swedish music platform said the partnership aimed at offering players more control over their in-game audio.

It said: “Long seen as the perfect companion to gaming, music boosts focus, amplifies adrenaline, and heightens the emotional highs of every match.

“Through this collaboration, players can now curate their perfect in-game soundtrack, listening to the artists they love.”

Podcast access and curated playlists will also be available.

The feature is currently accessible to Premium users playing EA Sports FC 25 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in Saudi Arabia and Australia.

The Kingdom has become a growing market for gaming and electronic sports, driven by a young and tech-savvy population.

Gaming now plays a prominent role in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 diversification strategy, with plans for the sector to contribute more than $13 billion to the economy and create tens of thousands of jobs, according to Savvy Games Group.

Riyadh hosted the inaugural Esports World Cup last summer, a large-scale tournament featuring 23 events across major titles including Fortnite, Call of Duty, and EA Sports FC, with a record-setting prize pool of $62.5 million.


Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release

Updated 03 February 2026
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Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release

  • Prison letters, photographs and other documents to feature in the book

DUBAI: A new book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti is set for publication in November, with Penguin confirmed as the publisher, The Guardian reported.

Titled “Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine,” the book brings together a selection of Barghouti’s writings, including prison letters, interviews, public statements, conversations with public figures, and other documents and photographs.

It also features excerpts from his book “1,000 Days in Solitary Confinement,” which has so far only been published in Arabic.

Fadwa Barghouti, who wrote the introduction to the book, said she hoped it would allow the world to hear her husband “in his own voice, not through the noise surrounding him.”

She said in a statement: “This book finally makes that possible — and I hope it helps people understand who Marwan Barghouti truly is, and how he embodies the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity.”

Barghouti, who has spent over two decades in Israeli prison, is a member of the Fatah party. He has long advocated a two-state solution and is widely regarded as a powerful and unifying voice for Palestinians, with many supporters describing him as “Palestine’s Mandela.”

His detention has prompted repeated international advocacy efforts over the years.

In December 2025, an open letter calling for his release was signed by hundreds of celebrities, including Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Mark Ruffalo and Stephen Fry; and musicians Sting, Paul Simon, Brian Eno and Annie Lennox.

In November 2025, his family and several UK-based human rights advocates ran a campaign that included demonstrations and public art installations in Palestine and London.

Barghouti has been jailed by Israel since 2004, having been handed five life sentences plus 40 years for his role during the second Palestinian uprising. He has spent significant time in solitary confinement, has been denied visits by his family for three years, and has been denied access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

His name was on a list of prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli captives in October 2025, but Israel declined to release him.