Saudi Arabia Extends Its Embrace of the World of Video Games
The fans flooded through the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by the thousands, kept cool by mist machines in the 110-degree heat. A 30-foot-tall replica gold trophy towered over onlookers at the city’s center. For a moment, covered in beams of brightly colored light, a country defined by tradition looked futuristic.It was the inaugural Esports World Cup, a coming-out party for Saudi Arabia’s growing video game industry. As part of its plan to diversify its economy from oil, the Saudi government has said it will invest $38 billion in video games by 2030 through its Public Investment Fund, known as the P.I.F., a wealth fund that manages $700 billion.Crowds gathered for the opening ceremony of the tournament in Boulevard City, an entertainment and retail corridor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Fireworks were part of the lavish opening ceremony.Visitors played with virtual reality headsets at a hall sponsored by Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, at the tournament venue.The wealth behind that commitment was on full display in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, this month, but the country’s influence in video games now extends far beyond its borders. In what has been a financially difficult year for the industry, which has seen mass layoffs, many of the world’s largest video game companies and influencers have quietly partnered with the oil-rich Saudis.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
