08/23/2025
Alswaha: Under the Leadership of the Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia is Rewriting the Future of Gaming and Esports with a Global Vision Driven by Innovation and Community
H.E. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, affirmed that the gaming and esports industry has emerged as the world’s leading economic multiplier, experiencing a growth rate more than five times that of global GDP over the past decade — surpassing all other industries and promising a bright future.
The statement came during his participation in the session “The Kingdom’s Next Era of Play: How Saudi Arabia is Rewriting the Future of Gaming and Esports” at the New Global Sport Conference (NGSC 2025) in Riyadh.
Alswaha emphasized that this leap is not only a milestone for Saudi Vision 2030 but also represents “the greatest and fastest success story of the 21st century.” He noted that in just three years, the Kingdom has reached half a billion gamers, ranking second globally in the mobile gaming market and eighth in the overall global market.
Highlighting the global reach of the event, the Minister pointed out that the Esports World Cup in Riyadh -with prize pools totaling $70 million- is the largest in history, drawing over half a billion viewers and participants from 100 countries, a testament to the unifying power of digital communities.
He further underlined that the future of gaming and esports lies in building vibrant and integrated communities, adding that Saudi Arabia is investing in AI tools to ensure the security and trustworthiness of these digital ecosystems.
Alswaha stressed that under the leadership of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom is steering the industry’s journey towards becoming a trillion-dollar global sector.
Concluding his remarks, Alswaha extended an open invitation to innovators and creators from across the world to join Saudi Arabia, saying: “This is an open call from Riyadh to the global community of creators and innovators—let us build together the trillion-dollar future of gaming and write the next generation of success stories.”