Saudi e-game sector registrations double in Q3
Riyadh tops list with 60% of the tally
Cairo: Saudi Arabia’s electronic games sector posted a marked rise in terms of registrations by the end of the third quarter of this year, growing by 102% to 5,675 registrations compared to the same period last year, according to a quarterly report.
Riyadh led the list, accounting for 60% of the overall registrations issued in the sector during this period with 3,331 followed by Mecca with 1,235, the Eastern Province with 582 and Al Qassim with 89, said a quarterly bulletin issued by the Ministry of Commerce.
The report showed an increase in education registrations in the field of sports and entertainment by 35% with 2,338 records at the end of the third quarter, compared to 1,723 in the same period last year.
In September, an official report said Saudi Arabia was leading the digital entertainment sector among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, securing around 58% of the revenues in 2022.
The kingdom gained about $2.1 billion from the Gulf region’s overall revenues of $3.7 billion in 2022, according to the report from the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
The kingdom is seeking to promote digital transformation and support emerging technologies with an emphasis on boosting competitiveness in adopting digital transformation technologies. The size of the Saudi communications and IT market reached about $42 billion in 2022, according to official figures.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
In July, the 2024 Esports World Cup (EWC), a global multi-game tournament, was held in Riyadh. The event, which ended on August 25, saw the participation of hundreds of competitors, who vied for a record-breaking $60m prize pool.