As with many sports industries, esports has sought to be as globally followed as possible. While technological infrastructure and device accessibility has been a significant barricade in many nations, increased smartphone and internet penetration rates are unlocking distant markets. Where once it was predominantly set in North America, Western Europe, and Far East Asia, we can now see significant upticks in regions like the Middle East.
Crucially, governing bodies in the nations of the Middle East are embracing esports, even investing in the industry. In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s National Gaming and esports Strategy seek to create 39,000 esports jobs and boost the national esports GDP by $13.3 billion. It’s a huge commitment and one that only further proves that the region is on the rise in the realms of esports.
Source: Unsplash
The prime example of how well esports is doing in the Middle East is the Gamers8 Festival. It opens to rabid fanfare, with the most recent taking place in Riyadh. Earlier this year, it was said that esports is now growing twice as quickly in the Middle East and North Africa as the global average. The big conventions and events are one catalyst for this growth, but support is coming in many forms.
In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as the nations seek to diversify economies beyond oil, gaming as a whole is receiving large sums of investment from public funds. As well as this, new policies that cater to soft infrastructure needs like immigration to bring in top-tier professionals are being implemented to bolster esports across the Persian Gulf.
International companies that form the pillars of the esports industry have also recognized the Middle East’s potential. The likes of Riot Games have been actively trying to raise the profile of competitive gaming, bringing major events to stadiums in the Gulf nations and creating new branches for local talents to get involved. The IAC tournament – also backed by Tencent, Intel, and Ubisoft – offered a $130,000 prize pot this year.
Source: Pexels
Increasingly, major entertainment brands are looking to become as appealing as possible to audiences in the Middle East. It’s a vast market with what’s so far relatively untapped potential. The media market was valued at over $30 billion in 2020 and is expected to climb t $47 billion by the end of 2026. It shows strong growth that looks to be powered by major companies adjusting popular products to the audience.
One of the main ways that they go about this is by localizing content, making it much more natural for interested customers to get involved. This has been the case with Riot Games launching Arabic language support for Middle East Valorant servers, all the way to online casino gaming. Now, the live casino hosts a specialized Arabic Roulette, which shows the platform adjusting its products to the increasingly important Arabic-speaking market.
Underpinning the rise of the market has been internet penetration. The Middle East has some of the outright highest internet penetration rates in the world. The UAE (120.7%), Saudi Arabia (98%), Qatar (107.3%), Oman (95%), Kuwait (99%), and Bahrain (100%) demonstrate how rapidly the leading nations of the region have amped up connectivity, unlocking the potential of gaming and esports industries.
In the coming years, the Middle East will only become more important to the global esports, gaming, and media industries. Given the investment and interest, it might not be long before an Arabic team becomes a dominant feature.
This is a paid guest post.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
