RIYADH: PIF-backed Savvy Games Group has partnered with gaming service provider Side to open a physical studio in Riyadh later this year to further support Saudi Arabia’s growing gaming ecosystem.
The collaboration was cemented at a signing event earlier on Thursday at Side’s London studio.
Nika Nour, head of global business development at Savvy Games Group, told Arab News: “There is no better partner than people like Side who have actually opened offices in other regions of the world, not just in Western countries like Europe or North America.
“They have the experiences and the tools to actually increase services, to train up local talent, and enter communities and understand cultural nuances to forge partnerships, not just for the short term, but beyond 2030, and that’s why we’re very excited about this strategic initiative.”
This is a step in expanding Side’s global footprint to 20 studios across 14 countries, providing services that range from co-development, player support, quality assurance (QA), localization QA, and audio. Their work in Saudi Arabia will be a tailored approach to the country’s needs, initially by offering co-dev, localization and local audio recording services.
Jacob Madsen, London studio head and VP of EMEA at Side, told Arab News: “From a company point of view, we’re always looking to expand into new markets. We’re always looking to try and have a diverse workforce, so that was also something that was really interesting to me. Over the four months, we’ve been kind of developing a relationship between Side and Savvy.”
Savvy prides itself on its three pillars as a holdings entity at PIF: Investments in MMA games, efforts on e-sports, as noted regionally with the Esports World Cup, and most importantly, moving forward and progressing on Saudi’s national Vision 2030 initiative of gaming ecosystem development.
The studio will also aim to provide youth training programs and strengthen local institutions, including collaboration with local partners such as Full Sail University, to nurture homegrown talent in co-development, localization and QA.
“What we tend to do when we open up a studio is very much work with the local population,” Madsen explained. “We try to bring in as few seniors or employees of other studios and hire the men and women of the country that we’re in. We are talking to Savvy about how we can connect to any existing university or training programs, whether we can bring down some of our experts — but we will also very much be training the people that we hire for the services that we’ll be providing.”
Savvy Academy, the company’s flagship initiative, focuses on incubation, acceleration and training with university relationships. They have also been collaborating with the International Game Developers Association’s Riyadh chapter, which has a talent pool of more than 200 individuals in Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh.
“We have great relationships with universities that we plan on imploring, working with, to bring these experts not only to the classrooms, but also figure out how we get them from graduation into professional careers,” Nour said.
The studio is set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025.
PIF-backed Savvy Games partners with Side to nurture gaming ecosystem in Saudi Arabia
https://arab.news/wrj36
PIF-backed Savvy Games partners with Side to nurture gaming ecosystem in Saudi Arabia
- The collaboration was cemented at a signing event earlier on Thursday at Side’s London studio
Saudia Group graduates 1,200 aviation trainees at landmark ceremony
- ‘This opportunity felt like a dream,’ culinary arts student says
- ‘Human capital remains our most important investment,’ transport minister says
JEDDAH: Saudia Group held its first unified graduation ceremony for trainees of its aviation programs on Saturday, marking one of the largest such events ever held in the Kingdom’s aviation sector.
The ceremony, in Jeddah, brought together more than 1,200 students who had completed specialized training programs and will now join the company’s workforce.
Mohammed Midher, a 32-year-old captain and graduate of the six-month aerospace engineering program, told Arab News: “Every difficulty becomes easy with hard work and dedication.
“I am very happy to graduate and grateful for this valuable opportunity provided by the Saudia Group.
“It was a chance to prove our skills and capabilities and we will be starting our jobs soon. I am very excited to lead the aircraft to destinations around the world.”
Nesreen Jomaa, a graduate of the Culinary Arts Academy’s one-year ZDAK program, said the training enhanced her professional growth.
“I already had experience in culinary arts and had worked in several hotels in Jeddah, so I came in with strong knowledge.
“This opportunity felt like a dream because it guarantees employment upon completion. It added so much to my professional growth and I also gained many wonderful friends within this field.”
Ashwaq Khaja, who completed the same program, said: “I am proud to be Saudi and proud of everything the group has provided for us.
“I have a bachelor’s degree in science management and I am a visual artist. Today, I aspire to combine visual art with culinary art. I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”
All of the training programs were delivered by Saudia Group and its subsidiaries, Saudia, Saudia Academy, Saudia Technic, Saudi Ground Services, SAL Saudi Logistics Services, flyadeal and Catrion.
The graduates will now take up operational roles in flight operations, ground services, engineering, logistics and customer-facing functions.
The students’ families were present at the graduation event and there was also a performance by a Saudi choral group.
The ceremony also celebrated the first Saudi female graduates in airport aircraft maintenance, with 25 women completing the training program.
Women were also represented in inflight services and onboard chef programs, reflecting their broader inclusion across all disciplines.
“The percentage of women in aviation is increasing year after year,” said Khaled Tash, chief marketing officer of Saudia Group.
“There is no program today from which women are excluded. Every program is open and women are fully enabled and encouraged to join.
“Over the years, we have celebrated ordering new aircraft, building new airports, expanding logistics and investing in infrastructure. But there is nothing we can be more proud of than ensuring we have the right people to lead these growth projects.”
The event was held under the patronage of Saleh Al-Jasser, minister of transport and logistics services, and attended by Ibrahim Al-Omar, director general of Saudia Group, alongside senior officials and aviation sector representatives.
“Developing national talent is fundamental to achieving the ambitions of the National Aviation Strategy,” Al-Jasser said.
“Graduating more than 1,000 aviation professionals in a single year reflects the scale and pace of transformation underway across the Kingdom’s transport and logistics sector.
“Human capital remains our most important investment as we build a globally competitive aviation ecosystem.”
Al-Omar highlighted the company’s progress in localizing roles.
“Saudia Group has made significant progress in localizing critical aviation roles, surpassing targeted performance indicators by margins ranging from 43 percent to 230 percent,” he said.
“We have also embedded knowledge transfer requirements into our agreements with global manufacturers to ensure the development of Saudi capabilities within the Kingdom.
“The next phase of our transformation, particularly as we elevate the guest experience and strengthen global competitiveness, depends on continued investment in specialized national talent.”
The event highlighted the diversity of career paths within the aviation sector, bringing together graduates from operations, maintenance, engineering, cabin services and ground services within an integrated training ecosystem addressing the sector’s full range of needs.
The group has also increased local content levels across its activities from 19 percent in 2019 to 29 percent in 2023, reinforcing its contribution to domestic economic development.
