By Brian Ward, CEO, Savvy Games Group

In a region that’s home to many of the world’s oldest games, it should be no surprise that Saudi Arabia is at the very forefront of the future of games and esports, and is home to one of the fastest-growing games companies in the world.

Games, like story-telling, are a core part of Saudi heritage, culture, and history. For hundreds of years, the Kingdom’s pilgrim and trading routes have acted as great conveners, bringing people together from diverse backgrounds, languages, and cultures; and, with them, came their games, creating a unique cultural cross-pollination.

The games of today are no different. We may play on our mobile phone or console rather than a board or with dice, but the shared enjoyment, positive impact, and sheer social power games can have to connect us with friends, rivals, and communities, is no different than those played throughout the centuries.

The popularity and enthusiasm for esports and games is palpable with the number of self-identified gamers in Saudi Arabia exceeding 21 million, over 70% of the population, with over 40% of these gamers being women.

In today’s Saudi Arabia, games are once again a leading medium for the country’s engagement around the world. In just over two years of existence, Savvy Games Group, and the wider games and esports sector in Saudi Arabia, have gone from strength to strength. The progress and achievements we have made are the result of remarkable efforts by dedicated individuals at both Savvy and the PIF.

Savvy, through our acquisition of Scopely, is the number one mobile games company in the US, and fourth worldwide. We additionally have a 40% share of the global esports market, through EFG and our VSPO investment, and Savvy is now the fastest games company in history to reach $1bn, $2bn, and $3bn of gross annualized bookings.

We have almost 69 offices in 22 countries and are creating jobs and opportunities in Saudi, supporting the Kingdom’s ambition for the wider sector to add thousands of jobs and make a significant contribution to GDP by 2030.

Later this year, Saudi will use its convening power when it welcomes the world’s best and most exciting players and teams as it hosts the Esports World Cup. The competition will take esports to the next level in its development and growth and, once again, position the Kingdom at the center of the sector’s evolution.

This success is driving significant international interest and is the reason why our Vice Chairman, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, and I visited the USA (Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington DC) last month and China (Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai) this month. Just as the flow of ideas, investment, and expertise coming into the Kingdom helps to facilitate the sector’s growth, there is also a huge opportunity for us to spread the word about what is happening in Saudi to new audiences. Engaging with potential partners and leading figures across the industry allows us to support the outward expansion of Saudi companies and talent looking to take their products to the world, as well as those looking at the opportunities Saudi offers their business. We will visit Japan, South Korea, and Europe later in the year.

The most common question and topic of discussion when we meet with stakeholders the world over is simple: what makes Saudi Arabia unique?

My answer is always the same: Savvy and the broader sector benefit from three unique factors -- first, Savvy has a unique offering by being able to deploy significant patient capital over the long term.

Second, we have a coordinated and unified vision for the potential of the sector, strongly supported by the PIF, our shareholder, and a blueprint for the development of a world-leading national gaming ecosystem in the National Gaming and Esports Strategy.

Third, our people, from the strong and inspiring leadership and support of our Chairman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Vice Chairman, to our Saudi and international staff, all share the belief that games allow people of all backgrounds, ages, nationalities, genders, and abilities to connect, play, learn, compete, triumph -- and have fun -- together.

We leave all our international meetings in the same way. With an invitation to come and visit the Kingdom and see the transformation for themselves, and join us at the new frontier of games and esports. It brings us great pleasure to see so many taking us up on the offer. Seeing, after all, is believing.

— Savvy Games Group is led by CEO Brian Ward, the former head of Worldwide Studios at Activision Blizzard, who has over 25 years’ experience successfully founding and leading companies and teams in the games industry, including at entertainment giants Electronic Arts and Microsoft. As Senior Vice President, Worldwide Studios at Activision, he managed all development from portfolio planning and concept design to quality assurance, code release and customer service. While in this role, Call of Duty became the industry’s first multi-studio annualized franchise and the first IP in history to set five-day revenue launch records for three consecutive years across all forms of entertainment.