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Known as a country with the world’s largest oil and natural gas reserves, it does not satisfy the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are expanding the gaming industry professionally and casually.
This improvement in the game industry is intended to legitimize career paths for players, game developers, and all elements related to the esports industry as a whole. One step taken by Saudi Arabia is to hold the Esports World Cup.
Professional gamers from all over the world gather in Saudi Arabia to compete in the Esports World Cup, which was held for the first time in Riyadh on August 25, 2024. Saudi Arabia took this step as the first step in developing the esports industry and competing with other countries.
In addition to being a spectacle, Ralf Reichert, chief executive of the EWC Foundation, told The National the event aims to be a significant competition among games and bring them all together on a scale the gaming industry hasn’t seen.
The EWC is also aimed at accelerating the esports industry in particular. This event has the ambition to become one of the most significant sports events in the world. Reichert believes that the EWC is more than just a competition.
He sees this event as an opportunity to unite the gaming community and encourage the esports industry to advance. On a national scale, the EWC Foundation hopes that a game can become a national strategy that can make Saudi Arabia step ahead compared to other countries.
Meanwhile, the UAE’s seriousness about advancing the esports industry does not just focus on the game. They target the industry’s overall progress, even to the grassroots at the school level.
They see the linkage between the esports industry and infrastructure in the country as a mutually beneficial paradox, giving a symbiosis mutualism to each other, starting from the grassroots that can support the growth of the esports industry, returning to the country, and ensuring the sustainability of the industry, which then becomes a supporter of the grassroots again.
Opening a School with “Esports Class” Facilities
The UAE plans to open a new school called Gems School of Research and Innovation in August 2025. This school has sophisticated facilities and expensive fees. However, the UAE carried out this strategy to encourage the progress of the esports industry in the UAE by providing facilities in schools.
Gems School of Research and Innovation will have Olympic-sized swimming pool facilities, Premier League-standard soccer fields, an Olympic-sized running track (400m), NBA-standard basketball courts with auditoriums, learning centers that support AR and VR, and esports classrooms.
Maryssa O’Conner, senior vice president of education at Gems Education, told The National how technology will become central to students’ learning. Gems Education also partners with tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, HP, and the Play Tech Centre.
Mutualism Symbiosis in Education, Infrastructure, and the Esports Industry
To support the progress of the esports industry in the country, the UAE plans to build a $1 billion esports island in Abu Dhabi. The island will contain training facilities, tournament venues, content creation rooms, and hotels.
The UAE and True Gamers dedicated the city of Abu Dhabi as the first area to build the esports industry. The “Esports Island” project is predicted to be built in Al Bandar and Al Dana on Al Raha Beach. The construction cost is estimated to be as high as $1 billion, with True Gamers committing between $280 million and $300 million.
Parts of the island will include an area called The Digital Tower, a center with meeting spaces, a start-up accelerator, and an animation studio. TG Arena will provide space for esports tournaments, a computer club with about 100 PCs, a simulation racing section, and space for console games.
A boot camp and hotel will also be built on the island. The hotel will be called GG Resort and contain 200 rooms, each equipped with a gaming PC.
While the UAE is upgrading its infrastructure as a backdrop to the esports industry, esports industry leaders worldwide are also recommending the Middle East do the same.
When it comes to the opportunity to be more competitive globally and compete with the UAE, one of the infrastructures that must be built in the Middle East is the increased power and speed of internet services. Regional players also need to build a strong community if they want to beat the best in the world.
Considering that the Middle East has also had a significant record related to winning several international tournaments.
